BOS  1 


AN     OCEAN     GARDEN 


NATURE     READERS 

SEASIDE   AND   WAYSIDE 
No.  2 


BY 


JULIA   McNAIR  WRIGHT 
*  * 


So  he  wandered  away  and  away 

With  Nature,  that  dear  old  nurse, 
Who  sang  to  him,  night  and  day, 

The  songs  of  the  universe. 

—  LONGFELLOW,  Birthday  Poem  for  Agassiz. 


D.  C.  HEATH  &  CO,  PUBLISHERS 

BOSTON        NEW  YORK       CHICAGO 


^4J> 


SEASIDE   AND  WAYSIDE    NATURE    READERS. 

BY  JULIA   McNAIR  WRIGHT. 


Seaside  and  Wayside  Nature  Reader,  No.  i. 

Describes  Crabs,  Was^s,  Spider's,  Bees,  and  some   Univalve 
Mollusks. 

Seaside  and  Wayside  Nature  Reader,   No.  2. 

Describes   Ants,   Flies,   Earthworms,    Beetles,   Barnacles,  and 
Starfish. 

Seaside  and  Wayside  Nature  Reader,   No.  3. 

Has    chapters    on    Plant-life,    Grasshoppers,    Butterflies,    and 
Birds. 

Seaside  and  Wayside  Nature  Reader,   No.  4. 

Has  chapters  on  Geology,  Astronomy,  World-life,  etc. 


D.    C.    HEATH   &   CO.,    PUBLISHERS. 


COPYRIGHT,  1888  AND  1901, 
BY  JULIA  McNAIR  WRIGHT. 

1G5 


PREFACE. 

TO    THE    BOYS    AND    GlRLS  I 

IN  this  book  we  shall  wander  together  a  little 
farther,  by  the  seaside  and  by  the  wayside.  Sometimes 
we  shall  walk  on  the  breezy  hills ;  sometimes  in  the  low, 
marshy  places,  where  ferns  and  rushes  grow. 

Sometimes  we  shall  stroll  along  the  wayside  path,  where 
the  wild-flowers  and  grasses  are  woven  into  a  wreath. 

Sometimes  we  shall  go  to  the  hard,  white  sand,  where 
the  ocean  waves  roll  to  our  feet,  and  bring  us  shells  and 
curious  treasure  from  the  sea.  Again,  we  shall  go  down 
to  the  still  ponds,  where  lilies  float,  on  the  water  and 
dragon-flies  swim  in  the  air. 

Wherever  we  go,  let  us  keep  our  eyes  open  and  our 
minds  awake  to  the  lessons  of  Nature.  Then  we  shall 
be  able  to  learn  what  beauty  and  wisdom  lie  hid,  even  in 
such  humble  things  as  flies  and  worms.  We  shall  find 
much  to  delight  us  in  beetles ;  and  be  as  happy  as  kings 
while  we  search  out  the  secrets  of  airy  hunters  and  mar- 
vellous little  fishes. 

41C016  J.  M.  N.  W. 


Ill 


CONTENTS. 

LESSON  TAGS. 

I.  A  LOOK  AT  AN  ANT    .        .        .        .     *  .        .        .  i 

II.     THE  LIFE  OF  AN  ANT 4 

III.  THE  ANT'S  HOME         . 9 

IV.  THE  ANTS  AT  HOME 13 

V.    THE  ANTS  ON  A  TRIP 16 

VI.    THE  FARMER  ANTS 20 

VII.      ANTS   AND   THEIR   TRADES 24 

VIII.     THE  SLAVE  ANTS 28 

IX.     WONDER  ANTS 31 

X.    THE  WAYS  OF  ANTS 34 

XI.     MR.  WORM  AND  HIS  FAMILY 39 

XII.    MR.  EARTH-WORM  AT  HOME 42 

XIII.  MR.  WORM  AT  WORK 46 

XIV.  MR.  WORM'S  COTTAGE  BY  THE  SEA   ....  49 
XV.     MR.  WORM  AT  HOME 52 

XVI.     A  LOOK  AT  A  HOUSE-FLY, 56 

XVII.     How  TO  LOOK  AT  A  FLY 59 

XVIII.    MRS.  FLY  AND  HER  FOES 63 

XIX.     OF  WHAT  USE  ARE  FLIES 66 

XX.  A  SWARM  OF  FLIES     .         .        .                 .        .        .68 

XXI.     SOME  QUEER  FLIES 71 

XXII.    IN  ARMOR  CLAD 73 


vi  Contents. 

LESSON  PAGE 

XXIII.  WHEN  MR.  BEETLE  WAS  YOUNG   ....      78 

XXIV.  How  TO  LEARN  ABOUT  BEETLES  .        .        .        .81 
XXV.    THE  ROSE  BEETLE 84 

XXVI.     PRINCES  AND  GIANTS 88 

XXVII.  THE  LITTLE  SEXTON      .        .        .        .        .        .92 

XXVIII.  THE  STORY  OF  THE  STAG  BEETLE        ...      97 

XXIX.  MR.  BEETLE  SEEKS  FOR  A  HOME         .        .        .     101 

XXX.    THE  LITTLE  WATER-MEN 105 

XXXI.  WHIRLIGIG  BEETLES       .        .        .        .        .        .     no 

XXXII.  WHAT  A  FISHERMAN  TOLD    .        .        .        .        -113 

XXXIII.  MR.  BARNACLE  AND  HIS  SON         .        .        .        .116 

XXXIV.  A  FISHING  PARTY 121 

XXXV.  A  LAST  LOOK  AT  MR.  BARNACLE          .         .        .125 

XXXVI.     FLOWERS  OF  THE  SEA 127 

XXXVII.     THE  LIFE  OF  A  JELLY-FISH 131 

XXXVIII.     SEA-STARS 137 

XXXIX.     A  SEA-CHANGE 141 

XL.  THE  STAR-FISH  WITH  AN  OVERCOAT      .        .        .     145 

XLI.     THE  FLYING  FLOWERS 151 

XLII.     UNDER  THE  WATER 155 

XLIII.     A  HAPPY  CHANGE 160 

XLIV.  THE  DRAGON-FLY  AND  HIS  COUSINS      .        .        .164 

XLV.  THE  WINGS  OF  THE  DRAGON-FLY          .         .        .167 

REVIEW  LESSONS 173 


SEASIDE  AND   WAYSIDE. 


LESSON    I. 
A   LOOK    AT   AN   ANT. 

You  have  been  told  1  that  an  insect  is  a  living 
creature  with  a  body  made  in  rings,  and  divided 
into  three  parts. 
Most  insects  have 
six  legs,  four  wings, 
and  two  feelers. 

There  is  a  great 
Order  of  insects 
which  we  shall  call 
the  hook-wing  fam- 
ily. 

The  wasp,  the  bee,  the  saw-fly,  and  ant  belong  to 
this  family.  They  are  the  chief  of  all  the  insects. 
They  can  do  many  strange  and  curious  things. 

You  will  know  insects  of  this  great  family  by 
their  wings.  The  front  wings  are  larger  than  the 

1  Seaside  and  Wayside,  First  Book. 

I 


The  Wasp. 


Seaside  and  Wayside. 

^f/^TJiey  fold  back  over  them  when  at  rest. 
In  flight  the  upper  wings  hook  fast  to  the  lower.1 
If  you  look  carefully  at  some  kinds  of  insects,  you 
will  soon  think  I  have^told  you  what   is  not  quite 

true.  Why  will  you 
think  that?  You  will 
say  to  me,  "  The  fly  has 
two  wings,  and  not 
four."  "  The  ant  has  no 
The  Bee-  wings  at  all." 

Ah,  but  wait  until  you  study  about  ants  and  flies, 
and  see  what  you  will  think  then. 

The  mouth  of  all  the  hook-wing  insects  has  two 
jaws  for  cutting  or  for  carrying  things.  The  mouth 
is  nearly  as  wide  as  the  head. 

Above  the  mouth  are  two  knobs.  These  knobs 
ure  two  big  eyes,  one  on  each  side  of  the  head. 
Between  the  two  big  eyes  they  have  some  little 
ones,  on  the  top  of  the  head. 

You  see  insects  are  as  well  supplied 
with  eyes  as  crabs  are  with  legs. 

The  back  part  of  the  body  of  many 
insects  is  made  fast  to  the  middle  part 
by  a  small  joint,  or  thread.     That  is  be-       The  Fly- 
cause  these  insects  need  to  bend,  or  even  double  up, 
in  some  of  their  work. 

1  See  First  Book,  page  36. 


A  Look  at  an  Ant.  3 

The  Hook-wing  Order  is  divided  into  two  great 
kinds. 

The  insects  of  one  kind  carry  a  little  saw.  The 
others  carry  a  sword.  The  sword  is  a  sting.  The 
saw  is  to  cut  up  leaves  and  wood  to  make  nice  soft 
nests  or  houses  for  the  eggs.  The  sword  is  to  fight 
with,  or  to  kill  things  for  food.  Among  the  saw- 
carriers  is  the  fine,  long  fly,  called  a  saw-fly.  Bees, 
ants,  wasps,  and  others  carry  the  sting. 

Get  one  of  these  insects,  and  you  will  see  all  the 
parts  of  which  I  have  told  you.  Let  us  first  take 
an  ant  to  look  at. 

The  head  of  an  ant  seems  very  large  for  its  body, 
and  the  eyes  seem  very  large  for  the  head.  They 
look  as  if  they  would  be  heavy  for  the  little  ant 
to  carry. 

On  the  under  part  of  the 
body  which  is  next  the  head 
are  set  the  six  legs.  These 

i     i        r      ,    i  •    •    ,  *        The  Ant. 

legs  and  the  feet  have  joints. 

On  the  upper  side  of  this  same  second  part  of 
the  body  arc  set  the  wings.  There  are  four  wings, 
two  large  and  two  small  ones.  The  upper  pair  are 
larger  than  the  lower  ones. 

The  third  or  back  part  of  an  ant's  body  is  made 
of  six  rings.  On  the  tip  or  pointed  end  of  this  hind 
part  is  the  sting. 


4  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

Now  I  hear  you  cry  out,  "  O,  my  ant  has  no 
wings ! "  Well,  let  me  tell  you  a  secret.  The 
wings  of  your  ant  have  been  cut  off,  or  unhooked, 
as  you  shall  hear  by  anjd  by. 

There  are  many  families  of  ants.  Each  has  its 
own  name  and  its  own  ways.  All  ants  are  very  wise 
in  their  actions.  I  shall  tell  you  many  strange 
things  about  them.  Ants  have  always  been  called 
"  the  wise  insects."  Would  you  not  like  to  learn 
about  their  homes,  their  children,  and  their  way  of 
life  ? 

Before  you  study  the  ants  in  any  book,  I  wish  you 
would  go  out  into  your  garden  or  into  the  fields. 
Find  an  ant-hill,  and  sit  or  lie  by  it  for  an  hour  or 
so.  Take  some  sugar  or  bits  of  cake  to  feed  the 
ants.  Find  out  for  yourselves  all  that  you  can 
about  them.  Facts  that  you  learn  in  this  way  will 
be  worth  very  much  to  you.  Be  careful  and  do  not 
disturb  the  hill  or  alarm  the  ants. 


LESSON    II. 
THE    LIFE    OF   AN    ANT. 

IN  ant-hills  we  find  drone  ants,  queen  ants,  and 
worker  ants.  The  drone  ants  have  no  sting  and  do 
no  work.  Their  bodies  are  longer  and  more  slim 


The  Life  of  an   Ant. 


than  those  of  queens. 
The  drone  ants  have 
wings. 

The  queen  ants 
also  have  wings. 
They  have  stings, 
and  their  bodies  are 
round  and  dark. 

The  workers  are 
smaller  than  queens 
and  drones.  They 
are  also  darker,  and 
have  no  wings  and 
no  stings.  Workers 
are  of  two  sizes,  large 
and  small.  They  are 
the  builders,  nurses, 
soldiers,  and  servants 
of  the  others. 

In  an  ant-hill  there 
may  be  many  queens 
at  one  time.  Often 
the  ant-queens  work. 
They  are  both  moth- 
ers and  queens.  They 
will  also  act  as  sol- 
diers. The  queen  ant 


A  House  in  a  Hill. 


6  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

is  not  like  the  queen  bee,  who  will  allow  no  other 
queen  to  live  near  her.  I  think  mother  ant  a  better 
term  than  queen  ant. 

The  word  "  queen "  .may  make  you  think  that 
this  ant  rules  the  rest.  That  is  not  so.  Ants  have 
no  leader  and  no  ruler.  Each  ant  seems  to  act  as 
it  pleases. 

The  chief  work  of  the  queen  ant  is  to  lay  eggs. 
In  a  short  time,  out  of  each  egg  comes  a  lively, 
hungry,  little  baby  ant.  It  is  called  a  larva.  A 
larva  is  like  a  small  white  worm. 

This  little  being  needs  to  be  washed,  fed,  kept 
warm  and  dry,  and  taken  into  the  air  and  sun.  It 
must  be  cared  for,  very  much  as  the  baby  in  your 
home  is  cared  for. 

The  workers,  who  act  as  nurses,  are  very  kind  to 
the  young  larvae.1  How  do  they  wash  these  little 
things  ?  They  lick  them  all  over,  as  the  cat  licks 
the  kitten.  They  use  such  care  that  they  keep  them 
nearly  as  white  as  snow. 

The  nurses  feed  the  baby  ants  four  or  five  times 
each  day.  The  nurses  prepare  the  food  in  their 
crops,  to  make  it  soft  and  fit  for  the  little  ants. 

The  nurses  stroke  and  smooth  the  larva  baby. 
It  seems  as  if  they  patted  and  petted  it.  When 
the  weather  is  cold,  they  keep  the  larvae  in-doors. 

1  When  we  mean  only  one  we  say  larva  ;  when  we  mean  more  than  one 
we  say  larva. 


The   Life  of  an  Ant.  7 

When  it  is  warm  and  dry,  they  hurry  to  carry  them 
up  to  the  top  of  the  hill.  They  place  them  there  to 
bask  in  the  sun.  If  any  rain  comes,  or  the  hill  is 
broken,  the  nurses  run  to  carry  the  babies  to  a  safe 
place. 

When  the  larva  is  full  grown,  it  spins  around  it- 
self a  little  fine  net,  which  wraps  it  all  up.  W7hen 
people  see  these  white  bundles  in  the  ant-hills,  they 
call  them  "  ant-eggs."  They  are  not  eggs.  They  are 
pupa-cases.  In  them  the  baby  ants  are  getting  ready 
to  come  out,  with  legs  and  wings,  as  full-grown  ants. 

The  pupa-cases  are  of  several  sizes.  The  largest 
ones  are  for  queens  and  drones.  The  next  size 
holds  large  workers ;  the  smallest  cases  hdld  the 
smallest  workers. 

There  are  often  in  the  hills  very  wee  ants  called 
dwarf  ants.  When  you  study  more  about  ants  in 
other  books,  you  can  learn  about  the  dwarfs. 

After  the  ants  have  been  in  the  little  cases  some 
time,  they  are  ready  to  come  out.  The  nurse  ants 
help 'them  to  get  free. 

Many  hundreds  come  out  of  the  cases.  They 
crowd  the  old  home  so  full  that  they  can  scarcely 
find  room  to  move  about. 

Then  they  see  the  light  shine  in  at  the  little  gates 
en  the  top  of  the  hill.  They  feel  the  warmth  of  the 
sun.  They  crawl  out. 


8  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

They  push  upon  each  other.  The  hill  is  not  wid< 
and  high  enough  for  so  many  uncles  and  cousin: 
and  sisters  and  brothers.  They  act  like  grea 
crowds  in  the  streets  at  a  big  parade,  each  on< 
struggles  for  his  own  place. 

Young  ants,  like  young  people,  wish  to  set  up  fo 
themselves  in  new  homes.  They  spread  their  fin< 
wings.  Off  they  fly !  Since  there  is  not  room  ir 
the  old  hill  they  will  build  a  new  one. 

They  swarm  as  the  bees  do.  As  they  rise  higl 
from  the  earth,  they  drift  off  on  the  wind.  Ven 
many  of  them  tire  out  and  die,  or  are  blown  into  th< 
water,  and  are  drowned.  A  few  live  and  settle  or 
places  fit  for  a  new  ant-hill. 

It  is  the  mother  or  queen  ant  who  chooses  the 
new  home.  When  she  has  found  the  right  place 
what  do  you  think  she  does?  She  takes  off  he 
wings,  as  she  does  not  care  to  fly  any  more. 

The  ant  does  not  tear  off  her  wings.  She  un 
hooks  them,  and  lets  them  fall  away,  and  does  no 
seem  to  miss  them. 


The  Ant's  Home. 


LESSON    III. 
THE    ANT'S    HOME. 

ANTS  live  in  nests,  made  in  the  earth.     We  call 
them  ant-hills,  from  the  shape  of  the  part  that  is 


The  New  Home. 


above  ground.     It  is  the  queen  ant  who  begins  to 
build  the  ant-hill. 

Like  the  mother  wasp,  the  ant  works  on  her  nest 
until  enough  ants  grow  up  to  do  all  the  work.     Af- 


10 


Seaside  and  Wayside. 


ter  that,  like  the  queen  bee,  she  does  no  work.    The 
work  ants  will  not  allow  her  to  go  from  home.1 

When  the  ant  finds  a  place  for  her  home,  how 
does  she  take  off  her.  wings  ?     They  would  be  in 


Sappers  and  Miners. 

her  way  while  she  worked.  She  presses  the  edge 
of  a  wing  upon  the  ground  and  so  pushes  it  up  and 
loosens  the  hook,  just  as  you  unhook  a  dress.  Then 
she  begins  to  dig.  She  acts  at  first  much  as  your 
dog  does  when  he  digs  after  a  chipmunk  or  a  rabbit 

1  For  Lessons  on  Bees  and  Wasps,  see  First  Book. 


The  Ant's   Home. 


1 1 


The  ant  lays  her  big  head  close  to  the  ground. 
With  her  fore-feet  she  digs  up  the  soil,  and  tosses 
it  back  between  her  hind  legs.  She  digs  as  her 
cousin,  Mrs.  Wasp,  digs. 


Sappers  and  Miners. 

She  keeps  waving  her  little  feelers,  as  if  to  find 
out  the  kind  of  soil.  Soon  she  has  a  hole  deep 
enough  to  cover  her  body.  It  is  too  deep  for  her 
to  throw  out  the  dirt  with  her  feet.  Now  she  uses 
her  feet,  and  her  jaws,  also,  to  dig  with. 

Where  the  soil  is  sandy,  she  takes  it  out,  grain 


12  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

by  grain.  At  first,  she  must  back  out  of  her  hole, 
Soon  her  hall-way  is  so  wide  that  she  can  turn 
about  after  she  has  backed  a  few  steps. 

Ants  are  very  kind,  to  each  other  in  their  work. 
If  they  push  or  tread  on  each  other  in  their  haste, 
they  never  fight  about  it. 

The  ants  know  how  to  work  and  how  to  rest. 
After  a  little  hard  work  they  stop,  clean  their 
bodies,  take  some  food,  and  sleep. 

As  the  making  of  the  hall  goes  on,  the  ants  bite 
off  with  their  jaws  bits  of  dirt,  and  roll  them  up 
with  their  feet.  They  soon  use  the  hind  part  of 
the  body  to  press  and  push  the  earth  into  a  firm 
ball.  These  balls  are  carried  out  and  laid  by  the 
door.  By  degrees  the  balls  form  the  "  ant-hill." 

When  the  hall  is  two  or  three  inches  long,  they 
make  a  room.  Then  they  make  more  halls  and 
more  rooms.  The  rooms  are  for  eggs,  for  larvae, 
for  pupae,1  and  for  food. 

People  who  have  studied  much  about  ants  have 
had  them  build  nests  in  glass  jars.  Thus  they  have 
been  able  to  see  how  they  work. 

To  make  a  room,  the  ants  often  have  to  stand  on 
their  hind  legs,  and  bite  the  earth  off,  as  they  reach 
up  their  heads.  Sometimes  the  ant  lies  on  its  side, 
to  clean  off  or  smooth  the  side  wall.  They  have 

^  Pupa  is  used  when  we  speak  of  oi\Q,pup(Z  when  we  mean  more  than  one 


The  Ants  at  Home.  13 

been  seen  at  work,  lying  on  their  backs,  as  men  do 
in  mines. 

The  jaws  of  the  ant  have  tiny  teeth.  In  old  work 
ants  the  teeth  are  often  quite  worn  off.  The  feet 
and  jaws  of  the  ant  are  well  made  for  digging. 
The  feet  have  small  hairs.  By  the  aid  of  these 
the  ants  can  run  up  a  piece  of  glass,  or  hang  on  a 
wall,  as  you  would  say,  "  upside  down." 

An  ant-hill  is  made  of  very  many  little  halls  and 
rooms.  Some  open  into  each  other;  some  do  not. 
The  rooms  are  bedrooms,  nurseries,  pantries,  and 
dining  rooms.  Many  of  the  rooms  are  shaped  like 
a  horseshoe.  Some  are  round. 

The  ants  press  and  knead  the  floors  and  walls  to 
make  them  hard  and  smooth.  Sometimes  they  line 
them  with  a  sticky  soil,  like  paste,  to  keep  the  earth 
from  falling  in. 

,  Some    ants    seem    to    make   a  kind  of   glue,   or 
varnish,  with  which  they  line  their  walls. 

LESSON  IV. 
THE  ANTS  AT  HOME. 

WE  have  taken  a  look  at  the  ants  and  have  seen 
how  the  hill  is  made.  Let  us  now  see  how  the  ants 
live  in  their  hill-home. 

When  we  go    to  visit  them,  we  shall  find  ants 


14  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

running  all  about  the  hill  and  in  the  halls.  These 
are  the  work  ants.  Some  seem  to  stand  on  the  hill 
to  watch  lest  any  danger  may  come  near. 

When  the  drone  ants  and  the  queens  are  young, 
the  work  ants  let  them  go  out  and  fly.  When  they 
go  out,  the  drones  do  not  often  come  back.  They 
get  lost  or  die. 

The  young  queens  come  back,  except  those  who 
go  off  to  make  new  hills.  But  when  the  young 
queen  settles  down  in  life,  to  her  work  of  laying 
eggs,  the  workers  do  not  let  her  leave  the  hill  any 
more. 

How  do  they  keep  her  in  ?  If  she  has  not  taken 
off  her  pretty  wings,  they  take  them  off  and  throw 
them  away!  If  she  tries  to  walk  off,  a  worker 
picks  her  up  in  its  jaws  and  carries  her  back. 

The  ants  are  kind  to  their  queen.  They  feed  her 
and  pet  her,  and  she  becomes  very  lazy.  She  does 
not  even  care  to  lay  her  eggs  in  a  nice  clean 
place. 

The  idle  queen  drops  her  eggs  anywhere.  The 
kind  worker  ants  pick  them  up,  and  take  them  to 
a  soft  bedroom. 

When  there  are  too  many  young  queens  in  one 
hill,  they  do  not  have  a  war,  as  the  bees  do.  The 
workers  settle  the  trouble,  by  taking  off  the  wings 
of  some  of  the  young  queens,  and  turning  them  into 


The  Ants  at  Home.  15 

work  ants.  This  is  done  before  the  queens  begin 
to  lay  eggs. 

New-born  ants  and  queens,  who  do  not  go  out 
into  the  sunshine,  are  of  a  light  color.  The  other 
ants  are  dark. 

In  cold,  wet  weather  the  ants  stay  at  home.  If  a 
rain  comes  up  when  they  are  out,  they  hurry  back. 
Early  in  the  day,  and  late  in  the  afternoon,  they  all 
seem  to  be  very  busy.  In  the  hot  hours  of  the  day 
they  stay  in  the  hill  and  rest. 

In  very  hot  lands  the  ants  stir  about  all  winter. 
Such  ants  lay  up  stores  of  food.  You  shall  hear  of 
them  by  and  by.  In  cooler  lands,  during  winter, 
the  ants  are  asleep,  or,  as  we  say,  are  torpid. 

The  young  swarms  usually  go  out  in  autumn.  I 
have  seen  very  large  swarms  in  the  spring. 

Ants  like  sugar  and  honey  best  of  all  food.  They 
get  honey  from  flowers,  and  in  other  ways  of  which 
I  will  soon  tell  you.  Some  like  seeds  which  have  a 
sweet  taste.  For  this  reason  they  eat  some  kinds 
of  grass-seeds,  oats,  apple-seeds,  and  such  things. 

Ants  take  their  food  by  licking  it.  Their  little 
rough  tongues  wear  away  bits  of  the  seed ;  they 
also  suck  up  the  oil  and  juice.  They  seem  to 
press  the  food  with  their  jaws. 

It  has  been  found  out  that  they  know  how  to 
moisten  their  food  and  make  it  soft.  If  you  give 


1 6  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

them  dry  sugar  or  cake,  they  turn  it  into  a  kind  of 
paste  or  honey.  Then  it  is  easier  to  suck  or  drink 
it  up. 

If  you  put  a  nest  of  ants  with  plenty  of  earth 
into  a  large  glass  jar,  and  put  some  food  near  by 
for  the  ants  to  eat,  they  may  settle  down  in  the  jar, 
to  make  a  home.  If  you  cover  the  outside  of  the 
jar  with  thick,  dark  paper,  the  ants  may  build  close 
to  the  glass.  Then,  when  you  take  off  the  paper, 
you  will  be  able  to  see  the  halls  and  storerooms. 

You  might  put  such  a  jar  in  a  safe  place  out  of 
doors.  Then  you  would  be  able  to  study  the  ants, 
as  they  roam  around  near  by,  or  do  their  work 
inside  the  jar. 

LESSON    V. 

THE    ANTS    ON   A   TRIP. 

THE  round  hole  in  the  ant-hill  is  called  the  gate. 
The  ants  can  close  it  with  a  bit  of  stone.  Often 
there  are  two,  three,  or  even  more,  gates  for  one 
ant-hill.  Once  I  saw  a  hill  with  six  large  gates. 

Now  I  will  tell  you  of  a  very  queer  ant-hill.  It 
was  made  by  big  black  ants,  in  a  little  valley 
between  two  hills  of  sand. 

Into  this  valley  had  blown  a  very  large  sheet  of 
thick  paper.  It  had  been  around  a  ham  and  was 


The  Ants  on  a  Trip.  17 

very  greasy.  It  had  lain  on  the  ground,  crumpled 
up,  in  sun,  and  snow,  and  rain,  for  a  year. 

By  that  time  it  was  hard  and  stiff,  and  weeds  had 
grown  up  about  it.  One  day,  as  I  was  going  by,  I 
saw  ants  running  in  and  out  of  the  folds  of  the 
paper.  I  took  a  stick  and  turned  the  top  fold  open 
like  a  lid. 

It  was  full  of  ants  and  of  white  pupa-cases.  The 
ants,  I  think,  liked  the  folds  of  the  paper  for  halls, 
and  the  larger  wrinkles  for  rooms.  They  had  found 
out  how  to  have  a  house  without  much  work  in 
making  it. 

When  I  opened  this  paper-hill,  they  ran  in 
swarms  to  pick  up  the  white  bundles.  Poor  things ! 
They  did  not  know  where  to  go  for  safety.  So  I 
laid  the  lid  of  their  house  back  in  its  place,  and 
soon  they  were  quiet  again. 

Now  I  will  tell  you  how  ants  move  from  one 
house  to  another.  One  day  I  saw  by  my  garden 
path  a  line  of  ants  moving  all  one  way.  They 
were  black  ants. 

They  went  two  by  two,  or  one  and  two,  close  to 
each  other.  Every  one  had  in  its  jaws  a  white 
bundle.  I  found  that  they  all  came  from  an  ant- 
hill. They  came  up  out  of  the  gate  very  fast,  one 
by  one,  each  with  its  bundle. 

About  two  or  three  inches  from  this  line  of  ants 


i8 


Seaside  and  Wayside. 


I  saw  another  line.     This  line  went  to  the  hill,  not 
from  it.     They  went  in  good  order. 

They  had  no  bundles  when  they  went  into  the 
hill;  when  they  came.out,  each  had  a  bundle,  and 
joined  the  other  line  of  ants. 


On  the  March. 

I  went  along  with  the  stream  of  ants  that  had 
the  white  bundles.  I  found  that  they  went  to  a 
new  hill,  about  thirty  feet  from  the  old  hill. 

There  they  laid  down  their  bundles,  and  went 
back  to  the  old  hill  to  bring  more.  The  bundles  lay 
heaped  in  a  ring  all  about  the  gate  of  the  new  city. 


The  Ants  on  a  Trip.  19 

Out  of  this  gate  ran  other  ants  in  haste.  They 
caught  up  the  bundles,  one  by  one,  and  carried 
them  in.  In  about  half  an  hour  they  were  nearly 
all  taken  in,  and  the  ants  brought  no  more.  The 
moving  was  over. 


On  the  March. 

With  a  long  blade  of  grass,  I  gently  took  up  a 
little  bundle,  I  hid  it  behind  a  stone,  some  six 
inches  off.  I  took  three  bundles  and  hid  them,  lift- 
ing them  with  the  tip  of  the  grass-blade. 

When  all  the  bundles  left  at  the  hill  were  carried 


2O  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

in,  the  ants  went  down  the  gates.  But  in  a  minute 
out  came  three  or  four  ants.  They  ran  about  wildly 
and  searched  the  ground. 

They  went  in  circles  and  looked  over  the  ground 
with  much  care.  The  circles  grew  wider.  At  last 
one  came  up  behind  the  stone  and  found  the  bundles. 

The  ant  picked  up  one  bundle  and  ran.  Then 
this  ant  met  the  other  ants,  and,  I  think,  told  them 
the  news.  For  at  once  the  other  ants  ran  up  to 
the  stone,  and  each  took  up  a  bundle. 

Then  they  all  ran  into  the  hill.  Can  ants  count? 
That  looked  as  if  they  knew  how  many  bundles 
they  had.  It  also  looked  as  if  they  knew  that  two 
ants  must  go  for  two  bundles. 

A  man  who  took  bundles  from  a  march  in  this 
way  thinks  that  the  ants  smell  the  hidden  bundles. 
He  says  they  will  not  search  for  them  if  you  hide 
them  in  the  earth. 

LESSON    VI. 
THE    FARMER    ANTS. 

You  have  heard  of  the  spider  which  makes  a  den 
in  the  ground.  You  know  that  it  puts  a  trap-door 
on  its  den,  and  plants  ferns  on  the  door  to  hide  it.1 

1  See  First  Book,  page  82. 


The  Farmer  Ants 


2! 


The  spider  turns 
gardener  in  this  way, 
and  all  his  plants  grow 
well.  There  is  an 
ant  that  has  a  farm, 
or  garden. 

This  ant  lives  in 
warm  lands.  In  this 
country  they  are 
found  in  Texas,  Flor- 
ida, and  in  one  or  two 
other  warm  States. 

These  farmer  ants 
raise  grain  to  eat. 
The  grain  is  a  kind 
of  grass  with  a  large 
seed.  It  is  called  by 
some  "  ant-rice." 

There  is  also  a 
large  ant  which  is 
fond  of  the  seeds  of 
the  sunflower.  It  is 
said  that  the  ants 
plant  the  sunflowers 
in  a  ring  around  their 
hill. 

The  ants  have  not 


The  Little  Farmer. 


22 


Seaside  and  Wayside. 


been  seen  to  carry  the  seed  and  plant  it.  So  we  may 
not  be  quite  sure  that  they  do  so.  Perhaps  they 
build  where  they  see  young  sunflower  plants  growing. 
It  is  possible  that  tihe  ant  plants  seeds  of  some 
j— — __ __ — ,  kinds.  You  see  there 

are  yet  in  the  world 
many  things  left  for 
you  to  find  out.  It 
will  be  well  for  you  to 
keep  your  eyes  open. 
The  farmer  ants  do 
not  live  in  a  small 
hill  that  you  could 
cover  with  your  hand. 
Their  hill,  or  disk,  is 
sometimes  flat,  and 
sometimes  high.  It 
is  often  as  large  as 
a  large  room.  It  is 
in  the  shape  of  a 


An  Ant's  Grain  Field. 


circle. 


In  this  circle  all  weeds  and  all  kinds  of  grasses 
are  cut  down,  except  the  one  kind  which  the  ants 
like.  The  earth  of  the  disk  is  kept  clean  and 
smooth.  Only  the  seeds  of  the  ant-rice  are  left  to 
grow. 

When  the  ant-rice  is  ripe,  the  ants  pick  up  the 


The  Farmer  Ants.  23 

seeds  as  they  fall,  and  take  them  into  the  hill  to 
their  storerooms. 

It  is  most  likely  that  as  the  ants  let  this  ant-rice, 
and  nothing  else,  grow  on  their  hills,  it  sows  itself 
by  its  fallen  seed. 

Still  the  ants  are  real  farmers,  as  they  keep  their 
land  clean,  tend  and  gather  the  crop,  store  it  up, 
and  eat  it. 

When  the  ant-rice  is  ripe,  and  the  seeds  have 
fallen,  the  ants  cut  down  the  old  stems,  arid  take 
them  away.  The  disk  is  then  clean  for  the  next  crop. 

The  ants  will  go  a  long  way  from  their  hill  to 
find  seeds  to  bring  home.  They  like  to  go  where 
horses  have  fed,  for  there  they  find  scattered  oats. 
In  some  lands  they  carry  off  much  grain  from  the 
fields. 

An  ant  in  Florida  climbs  the  stalk  of  the  millet 
and  cuts  off  the  seeds.  When  ants  take  seeds  to 
their  hill,  they  husk  and  clean  them.  They  throw 
bad  seeds  away. 

The  ants  watch  the  seeds,  and  after  rains  carry 
them  out  to  dry  in  the  sun.  This  is  because  if  left 
wet,  they  would  sprout  and  grow. 

Some  ants  also  cut  the  seed,  so  that  it  will  not 
sprout. 

The  ants  eat  the  seeds  that  they  gather.  They 
also  feed  their  young  with  them. 


24  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

One  ant  in  Florida  rolls  up  into  little  balls  the 
dust,  or  pollen,1  of  pine  cones,  and  stores  that  up  to 
eat. 

An  ant  in  New  Jersey  cuts  in  pieces  the  little  new 
pine  trees,  just  as  they  get  above  the  ground,  and 
carries  them  to  its  nest. 

Did  you  ever  see  the  ant  which  likes  sunflower 
seeds  to  eat?  It  is  a  large  ant,  and  when  it  has 
climbed  to  the  disk  of  the  sunflower,  it  pulls  out 
one  of  the  ripe  seeds  and  carries  it  away. 

When  people  keep  a  nest  of  ants  in  order  to  watch 
their  ways,  they  feed  them  with  sugar,  oats,  apple- 
seeds,  and  wheat. 

How  does  the  ant  eat  the  hard  grain  ?  Its  tongue 
is  like  a  file,  or  something  like  that  of  the  little  shell- 
fish of  which  I  told  you.2  The  ant  can  rasp,  file,  and 
press  the  grain,  so  it  can  get  at  and  lick  up  the  oil 
and  juice. 

LESSON    VII.  ' 
ANTS    AND    THEIR   TRADES. 

SINCE  you  know  that  bees,  ants,  and  wasps3  all 
belong  to  the  same  great  family  of  living  creatures, 
you  will  not  wonder  that  many  of  their  ways  are 
alike. 

.      l  See  Third  Book.  2  See  First  Book,  page  86. 

*  For  Lessons  on  Wasps,  Bees,  and  Spiders,  see  First  Book. 


Ants  and  their  Trades.  25 

You  know  there  are  wasps  and  bees  that  live  alone. 
You  have  read  how,  in  the  spring,  Mrs.  Social 
Wasp  builds  her  home  and  raises  a  brood  of  babies. 

These,  as  soon  as  full-grown,  begin  to  build  more 
rooms  and  nurse  the  next  babies.  Mrs.  Ant  does  as 
Mrs.  Wasp  does. 

Mrs.  Ant  begins  a  new  hill,  and  as  her  children 
grow  they  help  her.  But  Mrs.  Ant  does  not  often 
begin  her  hill  in  the  spring.  She  chooses  the  early 
fall  to  begin  work. 

As  the  eggs  change  into  working  ants,  Mrs.  Ant 
gets  plenty  of  help  in  her  work. 

You  have  seen  bees  swarm,  and  hang  in  a  bunch, 
or  curtain.  Ants  also  cling  together  and  form  balls. 
But  this  is  for  warmth  or  safety.  It  is  called  "snug- 
ging." In  some  lands,  in  times  of  flood,  ants  form 
balls  as  large  as  your  play  ball.  Thus  they  can 
float  on  the  water,  and  do  not  drown. 

As  Mrs.  Wasp  makes  paper,  so  Mrs.  Ant  can 
make  a  thin  paper,  for  her  nest.  But  it  is  poor 
paper,  not  so  good  as  Mrs.  Wasp  makes.  Mrs. 
Wasp  is  the  chief  of  the  paper-makers. 

I  told  you  how  one  Mrs.  Bee  cuts  leaves  to  line  her 
nest.  So  one  Mrs.  Ant  does.  With  cut  leaves  she 
lines  a  neat  little  nest.  As  the  spider  makes  a  fine 
spun  ball  to  put  her  babies  in,  there  is  an  ant  that 
makes  a  woolly  nest. 


2.6  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

You  have  read  of  the  Tower  Spider,  that  builds 
a  neat  tower  of  sticks,  straw,  and  grass  over  her  nest. 
There  is  an  ant  that  thatches  its  hill  in  much  the 
same  way. 

There  is  a  brown  ant  that  is  a  mason.  She  makes 
her  nest  of  little  balls  of  mud,  laid  up  like  bricks  in 
a  wall. 

Then  there  is  a  carpenter  ant,  as  there  is  a  car- 
penter bee.  These  carpenters  cut  their  way  into 
trees  and  logs.  These  ants  hollow  out  the  inside 
of  a  tree,  or  beam,  until  it  is  ready  to  fall  to  pieces. 
In  this  way  they  do  much  harm. 

Besides  their  other  trades,  the  ants  know  the  trade 
of  war.  There  are  soldier  ants.  Ants  are  mild  and 
kind  to  each  other  while  at  work.  But  they  are 
brave,  and  have  armies  for  war. 

It  is  odd  to  see  how  much  ant  ways  and  ant 
soldiers  are  like  human  ways  and  human  soldiers. 

The  ants  make  war  to  get  slaves,  or  servants.  I 
will  tell  you  more  of  that  in  the  next  lesson.  They 
also  make  war  to  get  cows,  as  you  will  hear  by  and 
by.  They  seem  to  have  some  other  reasons  for 
war. . 

When  the  ant  army  marches,  it  keeps  in  line  and 
order.  It  seems  to  have  captains  to  rule  and  lead  it. 
Scouts  go  before  to  seek  out  the  way. 

The  ant-hill  has  some  soldiers  for  sentries,  to  see 


Ants  and  their  Trades.  27 

that  no  danger  comes  near.  When  a  work  ant  gets 
into  trouble,  it  will  run  to  a  soldier  for  help. 

The  soldier  ants  do  not  appear  to  be  cross.  They 
have  very  large  heads,  as  if  they  wore  big  hats. 
Some  of  them  have  smooth  heads,  and  some  hairy 
heads.  They  eat  much  and  love  to  sleep. 

The  soldier  ants  do  not  do  much  work.  They 
rouse  up  only  for  a  battle.  In  an  ant-hill,  the  sol- 
diers are  larger,  and  often  more  in  number,  than  the 
other  ants. 

The  workers  are  the  smallest  ants  in  a  hill. 
There  are  fewer  queens  than  any  other  kind,  ex- 
cept after  most  of  the  drone  ants  go  off  and  die. 
At  that  time  there  are  very  few  drones. 

In  a  battle,  two  ants  will  often  cling  to  each  other 
by  their  jaws,  until  both  die.  The  usual  way  in  which 
an  ant  soldier  kills  a  foe  is  by  cutting  off  the  head. 

Sometimes  the  battle  ends  without  any  killing. 
At  other  times  the  ants  are  very  fierce,  and  large 
numbers  are  cut  to  pieces. 

When  strange  ants  get  into  a  hill,  sometimes  they 
are  driven  out;  sometimes  they  are  killed;  some- 
times they  are  treated  kindly. 

I  put  a  black  ant  into  the  gate  of  a  city  of  brown 
ants.  You  should  have  seen  how  they  drove  him  out! 
He  ran  as  if  he  were  wild  with  fear.  Three  or  four 
brown  ants  came  after  him  to  the  edge  of  their  hill, 


28  Seaside  aad  Wayside. 

But  though  some  strange  ants  are  cast  out  so 
fiercely,  there  are  two  or  three  kinds  of  beetles  which 
go  into  ant-hills  and  live  with  the  ants.  The  ants 
do  not  harm  them  in- any  way.  You  shall  hear 
about  that  when  we  have  some  lessons  about  beetles. 

LESSON   VIII. 
THE  SLAVE  ANTS. 


The  Parasol  Ants. 


Now  I  must  tell  you  about  the  slave  ants  and 
their  owners.     The  chief  family  of  the  slave-making 


The  Slave  Ants.  29 

ants  is  called  "  The  Shining,"  for  its  body  shines 
with  a  gloss  like  varnish. 

The  slave-making  ants  and  their  slaves  are  found 
in  many  parts  of  the  world.  The  masters  are  of  a 
light  or  red  color,  with  a  bright  gloss.  The  slave 
ants  are  dark  or  black. 

In  nests  where  slaves  are  held  the  masters  never 
do  any  work.  They  make  war  and  steal  slaves,  or 
slave  babies.  The  slave  ants  do  all  the  work.  If  a 
war  rises,  they  also  fight  for  the  hill  and  their  owners. 

The  army  of  the  slave  makers  will  march  to  the 
hill  of  a  tribe  of  ants  which  they  wish  to  seize  for 
slaves.  They  carry  off  the  pupa-cases,  where  the 
little  new  ants  are  getting  legs  and  wings. 

These  baby  ants  are  taken  to  the  hill  of  the 
owners  and  brought  up  with  their  own  young.  No 
slave-ant  eggs  are  laid  in  a  hill,  for  the  queens  lay 
all  the  eggs,  and  the  queens  are  not  slaves.  The 
slaves  are  stolen  when  they  are  eggs,  or  larvae. 

The  owners  seem  to  be  very  kind  to  their  little 
slaves,  and  as  the  slaves  grow  up  and  fill  the  hill 
they  seem  to  do  very  much  as  they  please. 

The  slaves  build  new  hills  and  take  their  owners 
to  live  in  the  new  home.  If  a  mistress  ant  wishes 
to  wander  off  her  hill,  her  slaves  drag  her  back.  If 
she  does  not  wish  to  move  to  her  new  home,  her 
slaves  carry  her  off,  all  the  same. 


30  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

The  slave-owning  ants  walk  about  their  hill  in  an 
idle  way.  If  war  comes,  then  they  fight  bravely. 

The  owners  do  not  build  the  house,  nor  nurse 
their  babies,  nor  feed^themselves.  Often  they  do 
not  even  clean  their  own  bodies.  They  leave  all 
these  duties  to  the  slaves.  The  slaves  feed  their 
owners,  and  brush  and  clean  them,  as  a  servant 
cleans  his  master's  coat.  When  the  ants  are  to 
make  a  move,  the  slaves  pick  up  their  masters,  and 
carry  them  away. 

How  can  they  do  that  ?  The  ants  carry  all  bur- 
dens in  their  jaws.  The  slave  and  the  master  lock 
their  jaws,  the  owner  curls  up  the  back  of  her  body, 
and  the  slave  carries  her  off. 

The  grip  of  an  ant's  jaw  is  very  strong.  She  can 
carry  things  much  larger  than  her  own  body. 

There  is  an  ant  which  uses  the  pine  needles  for 
food.  She  carries  the  bits  of  pine  laid  over  her 
back  much  as  a  man  carries  a  gun.  There  is  a 
little  groove  in  this  ant's  head,  where  the  bits  of 
pine  rest.  I  have  seen  very  large  hills  covered  with 
carefully  cut  bits  of  pine  needles.  I  think  they  have 
been  sucked  dry  and  then  cast  out. 

There  is  an  ant  called  the  "  parasol  ant,"  because 
it  cuts  off  tiny  bits  of  leaf,  and  carries  them  along. 
Each  ant  holds  a  piece  of  leaf  over  its  head,  like  a 
parasol. 


Wonder  Ants.  31 

An  army  of  this  kind  on  the  march  looks  very 
funny.  These  ants  line  their  nests  with  bits  of  leaf, 
to  keep  the  dirt  from  falling  in. 

These  parasol  ants  are  very  large.  Their  nests 
cover  a  large  space.  The  bits  of  leaf  are  cut  about 
the  size  of  a  dime.  The  ants  carry  them  in  their 
jaws,  each  piece  by  a  little  end  left  for  a  stem. 

We  have  some  parasol  ants  in  this  country,  in 
Florida  and  Texas,  and  there  are  many  of  them  in 
South  America. 

LESSON    IX. 
WONDER   ANTS. 

You  may  perhaps  read  of  what  are  called  "  Ter- 
mites," or  White  Ants.  You  must  not  think  that 
these  are  true  ants,  for  they  are  not.  They  belong 
to  another  Order  of  insects.  They  have  four  wings 
all  of  the  same  size.  But  true  ants  have  one  pair 
of  wings  smaller  than  the  other. 

The  white  ants  live  in  the  ground  and  also  in 
trees.  They  do  much  harm  by  gnawing  wood  and 
trees.  They  swarm  into  houses,  and  eat  the  tables 
and  chairs  and  such  things.  They  eat  all  kinds  of 
food.  They  are  much  like  real  ants  in  their  ways. 
There  are  many  of  them  in  our  country. 

Now  you  must  hear  about   the   ants  that  keep 


32  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

cows.  I  have  told  you  that  ants  like  honey.  They 
take  ail  their  food  by  lapping  and  sucking  it.  They 
suck  honey  from  flowers. 

If  you  look  at  the  plants  in  the  garden  or  house, 
you  may  see  on  the  leaves  some  very  small  green 
things,  that  seem  to  eat  the  leaves.  Your  mother  will 
tell  you  these  are  "  plant  lice,"  and  that  they  spoil 
her  plants. 

The  name  of  this  little  insect  is  Aphis.  That  is 
a  very  pretty  name.  The  aphis  is  very  small,  and 
is  often  of  the  color  of  the  leaf  it  feeds  on. 

This  wee  thing  can  make  honey  in  its  body  much 
as  bees  do.  But  the  aphis  does  not  store  up  the 
honey ;  it  drops  it  on  the  leaf  as  it  feeds.  This  is 
called  "  honey  dew." 

The  ants  eat  the  honey  dew  from  the  leaves,  and 
they  know  that  it  comes  from  the  aphis.  They 
stroke  and  tap  the  aphis  with  their  feelers,  so  that 
more  dew  will  be  let  fall. 

Have  you  seen  the  milkmaid  go  from  cow  to  cow, 
and  fill  her  pail  with  milk  ?  So  the  ants  go  from 
one  aphis  to  another,  until  they  get  all  the  honey 
they  want. 

The  ants  can  carry  home  this  honey,  and  give 
it  to  other  ants.  The  nurse  ants  will  carry  it  to 
the  baby  ants.  The  workers  take  it  to  the  queens, 
owners,  and  soldiers. 


Wonder  Ants.  33 

The  aphis  is  called  the  "  ant's  cow."  A  hill  of 
ants  will  seem  to  own  a  herd  of  these  wee  green 
cows.  They  go  to  them  on  their  leaf,  and  get  the 
honey.  They  know  and  claim  their  own  cows.  It 
is  just  like  having  a  drove  of  cows  in  pasture,  as 
the  farmer  does. 

You  know  that  people  often  keep  cows  in  stables 
and  feed  them  there.  The  ant  has  this  way  also. 
There  is  a  kind  of  aphis  that  loves  the  dark  and 
feeds  on  roots.  Some  ants  keep  a  herd  of  these, 
hidden  in  the  ground.  They  pet,  stroke,  and  clean 
them  to  get  their  honey  dew. 

Ants  have  been  seen  to  fight  for  days  over  a  herd 
of  aphis-cows.  One  hill  of  ants  had  no  cows,  and 
they  tried  to  steal  the  cows  that  belonged  to  an- 
other hill.  After  four  days  the  lady  that  watched 
them  got  twenty  cows,  and  gave  them  to  the  hill 
that  had  none.  Then  the  war  ended. 

The  ants  which  got  the  new  cows  seemed  very 
glad.  They  licked  and  petted  the  cows,  and  put 
them  in  a  safe  place.  They  took  honey  from  them 
and  fed  the  soldiers. 

This  seems  just  like  a  fairy  tale.  But  it  is  quite 
true.  All  these  things  can  be  seen  if  you  look  out 
for  them.  But  you  must  be  patient  and  anxious  to 
learn. 

In  warm  summer  days,  when  your  mother  tells 


34  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

you  that  it  is  too  hot  to  run  about  much,  what  will 
you  do  ?  Why  not  make  a  tent  of  an  umbrella, 
placed  near  an  ant-hill, 'and  watch  these  pretty  and 

curious  little  creatures  ? 

• 

LESSON  X. 
THE  WAYS  OF  ANTS. 

I  HAVE  told  you  that  ants  like  honey  and  sweets. 
They  will  also  suck  the  juices  and  soft  parts  of 
many  other  kinds  of  food.  Some  ants  eat  nearly 
everything  that  can  be  eaten. 

Almost  all  ants  will  eat  other  insects,  and  suck 
the  eggs  or  pupae  of  other  insects.  This  habit 
makes  ants  very  useful.  Certain  worms  and  bugs 
that  destroy  orange  trees  and  cotton  plants  are 
killed  by  ants. 

Ants  also  eat  other  insects  that  injure  men.  If 
a  coat  that  has  these  on  it  is  laid  near  an  ant-hill, 
in  an  hour  or  two  the  ants  will  have  made  it 
quite  clean. 

You  have  seen  a  fly  sit  and  clean  her  body  and 
wings.  She  does  this  by  drawing  her  feet  over  her 
head  and  body.  So  you  have  seen  the  cat  clean 
her  fur  coat  with  her  paws  and  tongue.  The  ant 
washes  or  brushes  herself  in  just  such  a  way. 

The  ant  is  very  neat  and  clean  in  her  habits.     She 


The  Ways  of  Ants. 


35 


takes  many  naps  in  a 
day,  and  after  each 
nap  she  brushes  her- 
self. She  brushes  her- 
self tidy  after  work 
and  after  taking  food. 

The  action  of  the 
ant  in  cleansing  her- 
self is  much  like  that 
of  the  cat.  The  ant 
has  on  her  fore-leg  a 
little  comb,  shaped 
like  your  thumb. 
With  this  she  strokes 
and  combs  all  dust 
and  dirt  from  her 
body. 

If  you  watch  an  ant 
as  she  dresses  herself, 
you  will  see  that  she 
draws  her  fore-foot 
through  her  mouth. 
This  is  to  clean  the 
comb  and  to  make  it 
moist,  so  that  it  will 
do  its  work  well. 

The   ant    has   also 


Queer  Capers. 


Seaside  and  Wayside. 


(^ueer  Capers. 


little  brushes  on  her 
other  feet;  so  you 
see  there  is  no  reason 
why  she  should  not 
keep  herself  very 
trim  and  tidy. 

Ants  are  very  neat 
about  their  nests. 
They  carry  out  all 
husks  of  grain  and 
seeds  and  all  dead 
bodies.  They  carry 
these  quite  off  their 
hill. 

I  knew  of  an  ant's 
nest  that  had  been 
set  on  a  post  in 
water.  It  was  kept 
clean  by  the  ants. 
They  soon  learned  to 
drop  all  refuse  over 
into  the  water.  That 
is  as  the  sailor  does, 
when  he  tidies  his 
ship. 

Ants  bury  their 
dead.  When  an  ant 


The  Ways  of  Ants.  37 

dies,  some  of  the  other  ants  pick  up  the  body  to 
carry  it  off  and  bury  it.  They  do  not  like  to  put 
dead  bodies  near  their  hill.  The  ants  will  carry 
the  dead  ones  round  and  round,  till  they  find  a 
good  place  for  them. 

A  lady  who  spent  much  time  in  the  study  of  ants 
said  that  the  slave-owning  ants  do  not  bury  the 
slaves  with  the  masters.  They  put  the  dead  slaves 
in  one  place  and  the  owners  in  another. 

Ants  will  now  and  then  change  their  home. 
They  leave  an  old  hill  and  make  a  new  one.  When 
they  do  this,  if  some  of  the  ants  do  not  seem  ready 
to  leave  the  old  hill,  the  others  drag  them  off  by 
force. 

Most  ants  have  very  good  eyes,  and  can  see  above 
ground  and  under  ground.  But  there  is  one  kind 
of  ant  that  is  blind. 

Ants  can  bite  with  their  sharp  jaws.  They  also 
have  a  sting.  They  seldom  use  it  if  they  are  let 
alone.  Some  ants  have  quite  a  sharp  sting.  The 
sting  is  on  the  hind  part  of  the  ant's  body.  Their 
sting  is  made  in  three  parts.  There  is  the  sack  for 
poison,  the  needle  which  gives  the  prick,  and  the 
case  to  keep  the  needle  or  prickle  in.  This  needle, 
of  a  light  color,  is  like  a  little  thorn. 

The  ant  seizes  with  its  jaws  the  part  which  it 
wishes  to  sting.  Then  it  lifts  its  body  up  on  the 


38  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

hind  legs,  and  swings  its  sting  part  under,  so  that  it 
can  drive  the  sting  into  the  place  held  by  the  jaws. 
The  sting  does  not  do  much  harm  to  people,  but 
will  no  doubt  kill  ants.and  other  insects. 

Ants  make  also  a  kind  of  juice  called  "  ant  acid." 
They  can  throw  this  about  when  the  hill  is  dis- 
turbed. This  acid  must  be  pretty  strong.  It  will 
make  a  dog  sneeze  and  rub  his  nose.  The  ant  uses 
it  to  keep  dogs,  mice,  beetles,  and  such  things,  away 
from  the  ant-hill. 

I  have  told  you  that  some  ants  harm  trees  and 
plants  by  gnawing  or  cutting  them.  It  is  only  fair 
now  to  tell  you  that  ants  help  plants  to  grow.  As 
they  creep  into  flowers  for  honey,  they  carry  about 
from  flower  to  flower  the  dust  or  pollen  which 
makes  new  seeds  grow.  This  dust  sticks  to  the 
ant's  body,  and  what  is  taken  from  one  flower  is 
carried  to  another.  Bees  also  carry  pollen. 

Thus,  you  see  that  the  ants  help  the  flowers, 
which  in  their  turn  give  food  to  the  ants.  But,  of 
course,  the  ants  do  not  know  what  they  are  doing 
for  the  flowers.1  Nor  do  the  bees  know  that  they 
help  the  flowers.  The  bees  and  ants  do  not  know 
that  pollen  sticks  to  them,  to  be  carried  about. 

These  lessons  about  the  ant  contain  only  a  few 
of  the  many  things  that  can  be  said  of  this  insect 

1  See  Lesson  XIII. 


Mr.   Worm  and  his  Family.  39 

I  hope  you  will  like  the  ants  well  enough  to  get 
other  books  about  them,  and  study  and  watch  the 
ants  for  yourselves. 

.     LESSON    XL 
MR.    WORM    AND    HIS    FAMILY. 

ONE  day  I  saw  a  boy  making  a  hole  in  the 
ground,  and  he  dug  out  a  worm. 

I  said  to  the  boy,  "  What  can  you  tell  me  about 
worms  ?  " 

The  boy  said,  "  Worms  are  long,  soft  things, 
alike  at  both  ends.  If  you  cut  one  in  two,  each  end 
goes  off,  and  makes  a  whole  new  worm.  They 
have  no  heads  and  no  feet  and  no  feelings,  and  are 
no  good  but  for  fish-bait." 

The  boy  thought  he  knew  all  about  worms.  But 
really  he  knew  very  little  about  them.  All  that  he 
had  told  me  was  wrong. 

Worms  belong  to  the  great  class  of  ringed,  or 
jointed,  animals.  These  creatures  have  bodies 
made  in  rings  or  joints. 

Let  us  take  a  careful  look  at  our  humble  friend, 
the  earth-worm. 

He  is  a  long,  round,  soft,  dark,  slimy  thing,  and 
you  say,  "  He  is  alike  at  both  ends." 

Is  he  ?     Let  us  see.     His  body  is  made  of  from 


4o 


Seaside  and  Wayside. 


one  hundred  to  two  hundred  rings.  These  rings 
are  smaller  toward  the  two  ends  of  the  body,  which 
are  the  head  and  tail. 

Each  ring  has  on  it  J;iny  hooks,  too  small  for  you 
to  see.     These  hooks  take  the  place  of  the  jointed 


Like  and  not  Like. 

feet  that  his  cousins  have.  The  feet  on  a  cater- 
pillar will  show  you  about  how  these  hooks  would 
look,  if  you  could  see  them. 

By  these  hooks  the  worm  moves  along,  and  digs 
his  way  in  the  ground.     Mr.  Worm  can  hold  so  fast 


Mr.   Worm  and  his   Family.  41 

to  his  den  or  hole,  that  you  have  hard  work  to  pull 
him  out. 

Have  you  seen  Mr.  Robin  brace  his  feet  and  tug 
with  all  his  might,  when  he  pulls  out  a  worm  ?  The 
worm  is  holding  fast  by  his  hooks. 

You  see  the  hooks  are  Mr.  Worm's  feet.  Let  us 
now  look  for  his  head.  You  have  five  senses.  You 
can  hear,  see,  feel,  smell,  taste.  The  worm  can  feel 
and  taste.  Some  think  he  can  smell  some  things. 
Some  say  that  he  cannot  see  or  hear.  I  think  that  he 
hears,  but  maybe  what  makes  him  come  up  to  look 
about  is  not  hearing,  but  feeling  a  jar  on  the  ground. 

Why  do  we  say  he  has  a  head,  if  he  has  no  eyes 
nor  ears  nor  nose  ?  We  say  he  has  a  head  because 
he  has  a  mouth  and  a  brain. 

His  mouth  has  two  lips.  The  upper  lip  is  larger 
than  the  under.  He  has  no  teeth.  In  the  back  of 
his  head,  not  far  from  his  mouth,  is  his  brain,  or 
nerve-centre. 

The  worm  is  the  only  jointed  animal  that  has  red 
blood.  Mr.  Worm  is  dark-colored  because  his  body 
is  full  of  the  earth  which  he  swallows. 

If  you  keep  him  out  of  the  earth  for  a  while,  his 
skin  will  get  pale  and  clear.  Then  you  can  see  his 
red  blood  run  in  two  long  veins.  He  needs  fresh 
air  to  keep  this  red  blood  pure.  He  dies  very  soon 
if  he  is  shut  up  in  a  close  box  or  case. 


42  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

LESSON    XII. 
MR.    EARTH-WORM    AT    HOME. 

I  TOLD  you  the  earth-worm  has  two  veins.  One 
runs  down  his  back,  the  other  runs  along  the  under 
side  of  his  body. 

There  are  tiny  holes,  like  pin  pricks,  in  his  body. 
These  are  for  the  air  to  reach  his  blood,  to  keep  it 
red  and  pure. 

In  his  body  poor  Mr.  Worm  has  something  that 
no  other  creature  has.  He  has  two  bags  or  sacks 
for  lime.  This  is  in  some  way  to  help  him  with  his 
food. 

Mr.  Worm  has  no  teeth  with  which  to  grind  his 
food.  He  has  inside  his  body  small  bits  of  stone. 
These  are  as  small  as  grains  of  sand.  They  are  in- 
stead of  teeth  to  grind  his  food. 

When  you  study  birds  you  will  find  that,  like  Mr. 
Worm,  they  have  no  teeth.  They,  too,  carry  little 
millstones  inside  their  bodies. 

The  little  bags  of  lime  help  to  grind  or  change 
the  worm's  food  in  some  way,  not  yet  well  known. 

The  soft  body  of  the  worm  will  stretch  like  India- 
rubber.  It  will  hold  a  great  deal  of  food. 

Now  you  see  that  Mr.  Worm  is  not  alike  at  both 
ends.  One  end  has  the  head,  the  stomach,  the  parts 
that  serve  for  a  brain,  and  a  heart. 


Mr.   Earth-Worm  at   Home.  43 

The  hooks  begin  at  the  fourth  ring  behind  the 
head.  Look  at  the  worm  when  he  lifts  his  head, 
and  you  will  see  his  mouth. 

The  tail  end  has  very  strong  hooks  with  which  to 
hold  fast  to  his  cell.  This  tail  end  is  also  his  trowel, 
or  mould,  a  tool  with  which  this  poor,  ugly  worm 
helps  to  build  the  world. 

Ah!  now  I  have  told  you  a  great  thing,  a  strange 
thing.  Is  it  true  that  the  feeble,  useless  worm  helps 
to  build  the  world  ?  Where  is  that  boy  who  knew 
so  much  about  worms  ? 

But  before  you  hear  how  the  worm  helps  to  build 
the  world,  let  us  go  back  to  what  the  boy  said.  He 
said,  "  If  you  cut  the  worm  in  two,  each  end  will  go 
off  and  be  a  whole  worm." 

That  is  not  true  of  the  worm.  When  the  worm 
is  cut  in  two,  the  parts  do  not  die  at  once.  As  there 
are  hooks  and  rings  on  each  part,  they  each  can 
move  off. 

It  is  thought  that  if  the  fore  part  is  left  safe,  the 
cut  can  close  up,  and  the  worm  can  still  live.  A 
new  tail  may  grow  upon  the  front  part,  as  Mr. 
Crab's  new  claw  or  eye-peg  grows. 

The  hind  part  cannot  live  and  grow.  It  cannot 
get  a  new  mouth  or  heart,  so  it  can  take  no  food, 
and  have  no  blood.  It  soon  dries  up  and  dies. 

The  boy  told  me  that  the  worm  "  had  no  feelings.' 


44  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

A  worm  can  feel.  The  sense  of  touch  is  the  best 
sense  it  has.  Put  your  finger  on  its  body,  and  see 
it  move  and  shrink. 

If  the  worm  can  he^r,  the  organs  that  serve  for 
ears  have  not  yet  been  found.  It  crawls  up  as  you 
come  near,  and  pokes  its  head  out  of  its  hole  and 
wags  it  to  and  fro.  It  has  felt  the  jar  of  your  steps. 

The  worm  cannot  see.  Creatures  that  live  under 
ground  have  but  little  use  for  eyes.  Fishes  that  live 
in  dark  cave-rivers  have  no  eyes.  If  the  worm  moves 
from  the  light  and  hides  from  it,  it  is  because  it  feels 
the  action  of  light  on  its  skin.  It  does  not  see  the 
light. 

What  does  Mr.  Worm  eat  ?  Some  tell  you  that 
he  eats  dirt.  It  is  true  that  he  fills  his  body  full  of 
earth.  That  is  to  carry  it  to  the  top  of  the  ground. 
Mr.  Crab  has  claws  and  legs  to  bend  into  the  shape 
of  a  basket.  Poor  Mr.  Worm  has  no  arms,  legs, 
or  claws,  so  he  must  make  a  basket  of  himself. 

Suppose  you  should  be  sent  for  fruit,  and  turn 
yourself  into  a  basket  in  that  way !  Your  mamma 
might  find  fault.  She  would  not  wish  you  to  act 
like  a  worm. 

It  is  true  that  the  worm  may  find  a  little  food  in 
the  earth  which  he  swallows.  But  the  chief  food  of 
the  worm  is  dead  leaves  and  stems  of  plants.  It  does 
not  care  for  fresh,  live  leaves  and  stems  and  roots. 


Mr.   Earth- Worm   at  Home.  45 

The  worm  also  likes  meat,  —  fat,  raw,  or  cooked. 
Worms  will  gnaw  or  suck  the  bodies  of  dead  worms. 
We  say  worms  gnaw.  As  they  have  no  teeth, 
they  do  not  really  gnaw.  They  pinch  off  what 
they  eat. 

Worms  like  onions  and  cabbage  best  of  all  food. 
They  need  plenty  of  water,  and  must  live  in  damp 
places.  They  soon  die  if  they  are  put  into  water. 
They  choke  as  a  fish  chokes  if  kept  out  in  the  air. 

When  the  worm  gets  food  into  its  mouth,  the 
rings  of  its  body  begin  to  move  out  and  in.  They 
look  as  if  they  were  opening  and  shutting.  By  this 
motion  they  press  the  food  down  into  the  body. 

When  the  worm  wants  to  move,  it  stretches  out 
its  body  to  its  full  length.  Then  it  takes  hold  of 
the  earth  with  its  hooks.  Next  it  draws  up  its 
body,  and  so  moves  on.  This  is  a  wave-like  mo- 
tion, you  see.  Watch  it,  and  you  will  see  that  it 
travels  with  a  motion  like  waves. 

If  you  wish  to  find  worms  to  study,  you  must 
seek  for  them  in  early  morning  or  late  in  the  even- 
ing. You  v/ill  be  likely  to  find  them  when  all  the 
earth  is  moist  with  dew,  or  when  it  is  raining.  They 
avoid  heat  and  sun. 

Worms  hurry  to  the  surface  of  the  soil  to  enjoy 
the  falling  rain.  When  there  is  a  long,  dry  time, 
the  worms  go  down  deeper  and  deeper  into  the 


46  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

earth.  You  cannot  find  them  when  you  dig  for 
them.  They  need  to  keep  down  where  the  earth 
is  moist,  soft,  and  cool. 

LESSON    XIII. 
MR.   WORM    AT   WORK. 

WORMS  are  found  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  I 
have  told  you  that  they  help  to  build  the  world, 
and  make  it  fit  for  the  home  of  man. 

Man  cannot  live  without  food.  He  gets  his  food 
from  the  earth.  The  worms  help  to  prepare  the 
earth  to  bring  forth  the  food  of  man. 

Oh,  this  is  very  strange,  that  humble  and  dirty 
worms  can  be  a  help  to  man!  Man  is  the  highest 
of  all  animals.  Worms  are  nearly  the  lowest.  And 
can  worms  help  man  ? 

Now  let  us  see  how  this  is  done.  The  worms  live 
under  ground.  They  make  long,  winding  halls,  like 
streets,  some  inches  below  the  top  soil.  These  halls, 
or  little  tunnels,  help  to  keep  the  earth  loose,  so  that 
the  fine  roots  of  the  plants  can  grow  well  in  it. 

These  tunnels  also  serve  to  help  the  air  move 
more  easily  through  the  soil.  By  their  constant 
motion  below  the  surface  the  worms  till  the  earth, 
as  rakes,  spades,  or  ploughs  till  it  above. 

All  this  is  of  great  use,  and  people  say,  "  Many 


Mr.   Worm  at  Work.  47 

worms,  rich  land."  Now  and  then  you  will  hear,  on 
the  other  hand,  that  the  worms  ,have  eaten  up  the 
seed  sown.  Or,  people  say  the  worms  have  bitten 
off  the  roots  of  the  plants.  Some  say  that  the 
worms  cut  the  vines  below  the  soil. 

You  need  not  think  the  earth-worms  did  that. 
Not  at  all !  The  earth-worms  never  behave  so  ill. 
The  "  worms  "  that  people  mean,  when  they  speak 
of  this  harm  done,  are  the  grubs  or  larvae  of  some 
insects,  as  of  the  daddy-long-legs  and  others. 

These  grubs  and  cut-worms  will  eat  living  plants, 
but  Mr.  Worm  likes  dead  leaves  and  stems  best. 
He  wants  his  food  made  soft  by  decay. 

Now  we  come  to  the  chief  work  of  the  true  earth- 
worms. When  they  make  their  halls  and  houses, 
they  fill  their  long  bodies  with  the  earth.  Some 
say  it  is  their  food. 

Mr.  Darwin  says,  "  Oh,  no !  they  fill  their  bodies 
with  earth  just  to  get  it  out  of  their  way."  If  they 
get  any  food  from  the  dirt  it  is  not  much.  They 
turn  themselves  into  baskets  to  carry  the  dirt  out 
from  their  houses. 

The  worms  work,  work,  work  all  the  time,  taking 
out  earth,  and  carrying  it  to  the  top  of  the  ground. 

There  they  pile  it  in  heaps,  called  worm-casts. 
Each  piece  is  the  shape  of  a  small  worm. 

The  earth  takes  this  shape  as  the  worm  presses  it 


48  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

out  of  its  long,  soft  body.  Early  in  the  day  you  can 
find  these  worm-casts  over  all  the  garden  paths.  So 
you  can  after  a  rain.  Go  and  look  for  them. 

There  are  so  many  ^vorms  busy  all  the  time  that 
each  year  they  bring  up  tons  of  earth.  This  shows 
you  the  power  that  is  in  small,  weak  things.  In 
India  there  are  worm-casts  in  heaps  six  inches  high. 

The  worms  make  the  earth  fine  and  loose,  by 
pinching  it  off  with  their  mouths.  Then  they  bring 
this  rich  soil  from  below,  and  lay  it  on  top,  and  so 
on  and  on. 

It  is  only  some  twenty  years  since  this  work  of 
worms  was  known.  At  first  people  said,  "  Oh,  no, 
no!  It  cannot  be  that  little,  soft  worms  could  cover 
a  great  field,  some  inches  deep,  with  new  earth." 
But  it  was  shown  to  be  quite  true. 

Fields  once  stony  and  hard  have  become  rich  and 
fine.  Things  grow  now  where  once  scarcely  any- 
thing would  grow.  Ashes  and  gravel,  once  on  top, 
go  two  or  three  inches  below. 

All  this  is  done  by  the  busy  worms.  That  is  why 
I  said  that  you  could  call  the  tail  end  of  the  worm 
the  tool  with  which  he  helps  to  build  the  world. 

Worms  at  work  under  ground  have  caused  great 
walls  and  pavements  to  sink,  as  the  earth  sinks 
over  mines.  Also, 'they  have  helped  to  bury  ruins 
and  old  cities,  and  to  keep  them  safe  hidden,  until 


Mr.  Worm's  Cottage  by  the  Sea.        49 

we  found  them.  We  are  glad  when  we  learn  of 
the  old  world  days,  from  ruins  which  the  worms 
helped  to  hide. 

Then,  too,  the  worms  help  make  the  soil  rich,  by 
the  dead  leaves  and  stems  which  they  drag  into 
their  holes  to  decay.  When  the  worms  die,  their 
bodies  also  help  to  make  the  earth  more  fertile. 

LESSON    XIV. 
MR.  WORM'S  COTTAGE    BY   THE   SEA. 

ON  the  seashore  you  will  find  two  or  three  kinds 
of  worms.  These  are  called  "Tube  Worms,"  from 
the  shape  of  the  houses  which  they  build.  Some  of 
them  are  called  "  Swimming  Worms." 

The  swimming  worm  is  cousin  to  another  family 
of  creatures  which  look  like  worms,  but  have  many 
feet.  They  have  a  name  which  means  "  many  feet." 

You  know  that  on  most  of  the  rings,  in  the  body 
of  the  worm,  are  hairs  or  hooks.  You  can  see  how 
easy  it  would  be  for  these  to  become  feet. 

Each  animal  seems  to  have  parts  that  are  like 
some  other  animals,  and  some  new  forms  of  its  own. 
Thus,  next  the  worm,  with  his  rings  and  hooks, 
comes  another  animal  with  rings  and  feet.  Of  all 
the  ring  animals,  Mr.  Worm  is  the  pattern,  and 
after  him  comes  his  cousin,  Mr.  Many-Feet 


5° 


Seaside  and  Wayside. 


While  Mr.  Many-Feet  is  like  Mr.  Worm,  he  is 
also  like  Mrs.  Fly,  and  seems  to  come  between  the 
two,  a  little  related  to  both. 

Now  let  us  look  at  the  sea-side  worms.  Here  we 
find  some  worms  that  have  eyes.  We  also  find 


Are  they  Cousins  ? 

some  that  have  little  hard  teeth,  set  in  a  ring  inside 
their  mouths.  There  are  some  that  have  fine 
plumes,  as  gay  as  any  bird.  These  poor  worms 
gleam  like  a  rainbow. 

New  parts  can  grow  on  these  worms  as  well  as 


Mr.   Worm's   Cottage  by  the  Sea.        51 

on  the  earth-worm,  or  even  better.  Some  say  that 
they  can  even  get  a  new  head  if  the  old  one  is  lost. 

Some  of  these  worms  can  bore  into  very  hard 
things,  as  wood  or  stone.  Some  of  them  shine  like 
a  fire.  Ask  some  one  to  tell  you  of  this  kind  of 
light;  it  is  like  what  we  call  Jack  o'  Lantern. 

Dig  in  the  sea  sand  anywhere,  and  you  will  find 
worms,  black,  brown,  green,  red,  orange.  They  dig 
through  sand  and  mud,  and  move  very  fast. 

It  is  not  yet  known  how  these  worms  bore  into 
stone  and  wood.  Perhaps  it  is  by  means  of  some 
acid  stuff  in  their  mouths.  Perhaps  it  is  by  a  file, 
such  as  Mr.  Drill  has.1 

If  you  look  along  the  sea  sand  of  some  shores, 
you  will  find  the  tube-homes  of  these  sea  worms. 
In  their  way  of  making  a  shell-home,  and  making  it 
larger  as  they  grow,  they  are  like  the  little  shell-fish 
you  have  read  of.2 

Most  of  these  tube-homes  are  small,  but  some  are 
very  large.  A  gentleman  told  me  he  had  one  with 
the  bore  or  hole  as  large  as  his  arm. 

These  worms  by  the  sea  serve  as  food  for  many 
fish  and  other  creatures.  You  know  that  nearly  all 
fish  like  to  eat  worms,  and  that  they  are  used  for 
bait.  The  boy  who  knew  nothing  else  about  worms 
knew  they  made  good  bait. 

1  First  Book,  Lesson  XXXIX.         2  First  Book,  Lesson  XXXVI. 


52  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

He  would  have  been  full  of  wonder  if  I  had  told 
him  that  large  worms  are  used  for  food  by  men  in 
some  parts  of  the  world.  In  this  country  we  do  not 
make  use  of  such  food. 


LESSON   XV. 
MR.    WORM    AT    HOME. 

BABY  worms  are  just  like  the  parent  worms,  only 
smaller,  and  with  not  so  many  rings.  As  they 
grow,  they  get  more  rings  by  the  dividing  of  the 
last  one. 

In  some  kinds  of  soil  the  wee  worms  are  born  in 
a  little  hard  skin  bag.  This  keeps  them  from 
harm,  until  they  get  strong  enough  to  take  care  of 
themselves. 

Mr.  Worm's  home  is  like  a  row  of  long  halls. 
These  halls  are  lined  with  a  kind  of  glue  from  the 
worm's  body.  This  glue  makes  the  walls  firm. 

The  halls  are  not  deep  under  ground.  If  the 
weather  is  very  cold,  or  very  dry,  the  worms  dig 
down  deeper.  Worms  dislike  cold  or  drought.  They 
enjoy  warmth.  They  also  like  water,  and  wet  soil. 

When  winter  comes  the  worms  plug  up  the  doors 
of  their  houses.  This  is  done  by  dragging  into  the 
doorway  a  plant  stem  that  will  fit  and  fill  it. 


Mr.   Worm  at   Home. 


53 


The  worms  carry  into  their  homes  leaves  and 
stalks  to  eat.  They  bring  out,  and  throw  away, 
things  which  they  do  not  like.  Worms  show  much 
sense  in  the  way  in  which  they  carry  things  in  and 


Mr.  Worm  at  Home. 

out  of  their  holes.     If  a  stem  will  not  go  in,  they 
turn  it  over,  and  try  it  in  some  other  way. 

Worms  usually  come  out  of  their  holes  at  night 
or  in  wet  weather.  If  they  go  far  from  their  house, 
they  cannot  find  their  way  back.  Then  they  make 
a  new  hole.  Each  worm  lives  alone. 


54 


Seaside  and  Wayside. 


Often  in  the  evening  or  early  morning,  or  during 
rain,  you  will  see  worms  near  their  houses.  You 
may  find  them  with  their  heads  just  put  out  of  their 
doors.  You  will  see  4he  worm  casts  in  early  day 
or  after  rain.  It  is  then  the  worms  dare  to  come 


Mr.  Worm  leaving  Home. 

out.     Sun  and  heat  dry  worms  up  very  fast,  and  so 
kill  them. 

The  birds  know  all  these  ways  of  the  worms. 
Watch  a  robin  or  a  bluebird.  He  searches  for  his 
food  at  sunrise,  or  after  sunset,  or  while  it  rains. 


Mr.  Worm  at  Home.  55 

Now  his  keen  eyes  see  the  worm  at  his  door !  In 
goes  his  sharp  bill !  He  pulls  like  a  good  fellow ! 
He  is  hungry.  He  wants  his  breakfast.  The 
worm  holds  fast  by  his  hooks.  The  bird  braces 
his  feet  and  his  tail,  and  tugs  hard.  Out  comes  the 
worm  to  feed  Mr.  Bird.1 

The  bird  shows  great  skill  in  the  way  he  pulls 
the  worm  out  of  the  hole.  He  does  not  break  off 
even  one  little  bit  of  his  soft  body.  No  boy  could 
get  him  out  in  that  way. 

Some  say  that  the  worm  lies  by  his  door  at  sun- 
rise for  warmth.  I  do  not  think  that  is  so.  I  think 
what  he  likes  is  the  fresh  dew.  He  loves  dampness. 
He  fears  cold,  but  he  also  dies  of  heat. 

Any  worm  will  die  in  one  day  in  dry  air,  but 
some  kinds  of  worms  will  live  for  weeks  quite  down 
under  water.  He  needs  an  even,  moist  warmth. 
His  home  must  not  be  hot,  nor  cold,  nor  dry. 

Little  young  worms  know  how  to  dig  houses, 
make  worm-casts,  carry  out  the  soil,  find  food,  and 
plug  up  the  door  of  their  houses.  They  know  at 
once  all  that  old  worms  do.  But  then  worm  houses 
do  not  require  as  much  skill  as  bee  or  wasp  houses. 

The  sea-side  worms  make  the  prettiest  houses. 
On  shells,  stone,  wood,  or  wound  alone  in  a  lump, 
you  will  find  their  tubes.  They  are  white  and  as 
hard  as  shell.  Inside  they  are  pink  or  blue. 

1  See  Third  Book. 


56  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

These  tubes  curve  and  twist  about,  as  the  worm 
went  that  built  them.  Some  are  very  pretty. 
There  is  a  soft  kind  of  tube  made  of  sand  and  bits 
of  shell,  stone,  and  weed.  The  sand  and  weed  are 
held  together  by  a  kind  of  glue.  The  worm  makes 
this  glue  in  its  mouth. 

I  have  some  tubes  very  clear  and  white.  You 
can  see  the  lines  where  the  worm  went  when  he 
built  them,  ring  by  ring.  Some  of  these  tubes  are 
so  small  you  can  just  run  a  fine  needle  into  them. 
Some  are  as  large  as  a  straw,  and  some  as  large  as 
a  fine  fat  earth-worm. 

Now  you  see  how  much  is  to  be  learned,  even  of 
such  a  small  humble  thing  as  a  worm.  Think  how 
much  even  such  a  weak  creature  can  do ! 

There  is  much  more  to  be  found  out  about 
worms,  which  I  hope  you  will  be  glad  to  learn  for 
yourselves. 

LESSON    XVI. 
A    LOOK  AT    A    HOUSE-FLY. 

LOOK  at  a  worm  crawling  about  on  the  earth. 
Then  look  at  a  fly  with  blue  or  green  body  and 
thin  wings.  See  how  it  whirls  in  the  air!  You 
will  say,  "  These  two  are  not  at  all  alike." 


A  Look  at  a   House-fly.  57 

Yet  there  is  one  time  in  a  fly's  life  when  it  is 
very  like  a  worm. 

For  this  reason  many  wise  people  set  flies  and 
worms  next  to  each  other  when  they  study  them. 

You  know,  as  soon  as  you  look  at  a  fly,  that  it  is 
an  insect. 

You  have  learned  that  an  insect  has  wings,  six  legs, 
a  body  in  three  parts,  and  a  pair  of  feelers  like  horns. 

Insects  breathe  through  all  the  body,  and  not  by 
lungs  as  you  do.  They  have  a  row  of  holes  in 
each  side  to  breathe  through. 

The  life  of  an  insect  passes  through  three  states. 
These  are  the  egg,  the  grub  or  worm,  and  the 
pupa.  When  it  is  in  the  pupa  it  gets  legs  and 
wings.  The  word  "  pupa  "  means  baby  or  doll. 

There  are  some  kinds  of  insects  that  vary  in  some 
of  these  points.  The  fly  is  one  that  varies  from  this 
rule. 

If  you  look  at  a  fly,  you  will  see  that  it  has  two 
wings,  not  four.  It  is  not  one  of  the  hook-wings. 

Many  insects  can  fold  their  wings.  The  fly  can- 
not fold  its  wings ;  it  lays  them  back  over  its  body. 

Let  us  first  look  at  a  fly  when  it  is  most  like  an 
earth-worm.  The  fly  comes,  in  the  first  place,  from 
a  tiny  egg  laid  by  the  mother  fly. 

When  the  egg  opens,  the  baby  fly  is  not  like  a 
fly,  but  like  a  little  earth-worm,  both  in  its  looks 


58  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

and  in  the  way  in  which  it  is  made.  It  is  a  small 
white  worm  with  rings,  and  on  the  rings  are  hooks. 

If  you  wish  to  watch  this  change,  lay  a  bit  of  meat 
in  the  sun  on  a  hot  day.  Soon  flies  will  lay  eggs  on  it. 

The  next  day  these  eggs  will  be  turned  to  grubs, 
which  grow  very  fast.  The  fly's  eggs  are  small  and 
white,  and  are  put  upon  the  meat  as  if  they  had  been 
planted  on  one  end. 

The  worm  of  the  fly  has  a  pair  of  jaws  like  hooks. 
It  has  two  little  dots  which  will  become  eyes  when 
it  has  grown  to  a  fly.  In  the  hooked  jaws  and  these 
eye-points  it  is  not  like  an  earth-worm. 

The  fly  grub  eats  and  grows.  Then  its  skin  gets 
tough  and  hard,  and  forms  a  little  case  like  a  barrel. 
This  shuts  the  worm  in  it,  as  in  a  coffin.  Now  the 
baby  fly  seems  to  be  dead. 

But  it  is  not  dead.  It  is  turning  into  a  creature 
that  has  wings  and  legs,  and  can  fly  and  walk. 

As  the  fly  lies  in  its  case,  first  the  legs  and  then 
the  wings  grow.  It  gets  a  head  with  mouth,  eyes, 
and  a  trunk  or  tube,  and  from  a  poor  worm  it  turns 
to  a  wonder,  as  you  will  see. 

But  in  its  little  coffin  it  is  shut  close,  and  its  legs 
and  wings  are  all  bent  up.  In  a  few  days  the  change 
is  made.  Now  it  is  ready  to  come  out. 

It  moves,  and  pulls,  and  gets  free  from  the  hard 
case.  Then  it  strikes  the  end  of  the  case  with  its 


A  Look  at  a  House-fly.  59 

head  time  after  time.  At  last  it  breaks  the  case 
open,  and  out  comes  the  fly  ! 

Then  it  stands  in  the  air,  and  in  the  sun  if  it  can, 
and  shakes  itself.  It  is  cold  and  weak ;  but  the  air 
dries  its  wings  and  blows  out  the  wrinkles. 

In  a  very  few  minutes  the  fly  is  strong  and  gay. 

Then  it  spreads  its  wings  and  sails  off  to  enjoy  its 
life,  and  to  look  for  something  good  to  eat. 


LESSON   XVII. 
HOW   TO    LOOK    AT   A    FLY. 

Do  you  think  a  fly  is  a  very  small  and  common 
thing  ?  Is  it  not  worth  looking  at  ?  Let  us  see 
about  that. 

First,  here  is  its  head  with  two  great  eyes.  We 
will  soon  look  at  the  eyes.  Then  you  will  see  how 
curious  they  are. 

There  are,  besides  the  big  eyes,  three  little  eyes. 
These  are  set  on  the  top  of  the  head.  Then,  too, 
on  the  front  of  the  head  we  find  a  trunk  or  tube. 
And  here  is  a  pair  of  feelers.  Inside  the  head  is  the 
brain,  very  much  like  a  worm's  brain.  It  is  only  a 
tiny  white  dot. 

Next  behind  the  head  is  the  chest.     The  head 


6o 


Seaside  and  Wayside. 


has  the  shape  of  half  of  an  egg  laid  sidewise.     The 
chest  is  nearly  square.      It  is  made  of  three  rings. 

On  the  first  ring  is  a  pair  of  legs.     On  the  next 
ring  is  a  pair  of  legs  and  a  pair  of  wings.     The  fly 

has  only  one  pair  of 
wings. 

On  the  last  ring  is 
a  pair  of  legs.  And 
near  these  legs  are  two 
little  clubs  covered 
with  fine  hair.  It  is 
by  means  of  these 
clubs  that  the  fly  can 
halt  or  balance  on  the 
wing.  They  help  the 
fly  as  the  second  pair 
of  wings  helps  other 
insects. 

The  third   part  of 


a   fly's   body    is    the 
the    chest 
made    of 


On  the  Wing. 

largest.      It  is    egg-shaped,    and    joins 
by  the    thick    end.      This    part    also    is 
rings. 

Now  let  us  look  at  the  head  of  a  fly.  The  feelers 
are  like  two  long,  fine  plumes  made  in  joints.  Most 
people  think  these  feelers  are  made  to  touch  with, 
Their  full,  true  use  is  not  yet  known. 


How  to  Look  at  a  Fly.  61 

You  see,  even  in  a  fly  there  is  much  left  for  some 
of  you  to  find  out. 

Some  people  think  that  flies  smell  and  hear  with 
these  "  feelers."  But  then  they  are  so  fine  that  a 
breath  can  jar  them,  and  the  fly  might  seem  to  hear 
when  it  only  feels. 

I  know  of  something  else  like  that.  It  is  this. 
In  some  schools  for  the  deaf  and  dumb,  the  pupils 
are  called  to  class  or  table  by  rapping  on  the  floor. 
The  deaf  do  not  hear  the  noise,  but  they  feel  the 
jar,  and  come  as  if  they  could  hear. 

Let  us  look  at  the  mouth  of  the  fly.  The  lip  of 
a  fly  runs  out  into  a  long,  slim  tube  or  pipe.  With 
this  it  sucks  up  its  food. 

At  the  end  of  this  tube  is  a  little  flat  plate.  Close 
by  it  are  two  sharp  hairs.  These  are  to  prick  the 
food,  so  that  the  tube  can  suck  it  more  easily. 

When  the  fly  is  not  eating,  it  can  shut  up  this 
tube  like  a  telescope,  to  keep  it  safe.  Did  you  ever 
see  an  elephant?  Did  you  see  his  trunk?  The 
fly's  tube  is  his  trunk.  The  elephant's  trunk  is  his 
long  upper  lip.  So  is  the  fly's  trunk  a  long  lip. 

The  chief  parts  to  notice  in  a  fly's  head  are  its 
eyes.  These  are  so  large  that  they  make  up  nearly 
all  the  head. 

These  big  bright  eyes  look  as  if  they  had  varnish 
on  them.  Now  each  of  these  eyes  is  made  up  of  a 


62  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

very  great  many  small  eyes.     There  are  four  thou- 
sand of  these  small  eyes. 

Between    these    two    big   eyes    are    three    little 
single  e^es,  set  in  this  way  — 

Wise  men  have  studied  the  eyes 
of  flies  for  many  years,  and  do  not 
yet  know  all  about  them. 

The  wings  of  a  fly  have  a  fine,  thin,  clear  cover- 
ing. This  is  held  out  on  a  tiny  frame,  like  a  net- 
work. The  fly  moves  these  wings  very  quickly. 
The  motion  of  the  wings  helps  to  make  the  sound 
or  buzz  of  the  fly. 

Now  we  come  to  the  legs  and  feet  of  our  fly. 
The  leg  is  made  in  five  joints.  The  foot  also  has 
five  joints.  The  last  joint  of  the  foot  has  two  claws 
and  a  little  pad.  These  are  covered  with  fine  hairs. 

The  hairs  catch  on  little  points  or  rough  edges. 
Thus  the  fly  can  walk,  as  you  would  say,  "  upside 
down,"  and  does  not  fall.  Besides,  the  pad  and 
hairs  act  like  a  sucker.  They  suck  air  from  under 
the  foot.  So  they  hold  the  fly  from  falling  as  he 
runs  up  a  pane  of  glass.  All  boys  know  what  a 
"  sucker  "  is  and  how  to  make  one. 


Mrs.   Fly  and  her  Foes.  63 

LESSON    XVIII. 
MRS.   FLY   AND    HER    FOES. 

I  SUPPOSE  you  have  heard  your  mother  wish  there 
were  not  so  many  flies.  The  fact  is,  flies  make  us 
much  trouble.  Their  noise  tires  and  vexes  people. 
They  lay  eggs  in  and  on  the  food,  and  so  spoil  it. 
They  cover  our  clean  walls  and  glass  with  small 
black  spots. 

Will  you  wonder  that  there  are  so  many  flies 
when  I  tell  you  that  one  fly  can  in  one  season  be 
the  mother  of  two  million  others ! 

Many  insects  die  soon  after  laying  eggs.  Bees 
and  wasps  do  not,  nor  do  flies.  Bees  and  wasps 
take  care  of  their  eggs  and  their  young,  but  the  fly 
mother  does  not. 

Mrs.  Fly  has  more  than  a  hundred  eggs  to  lay  at 
once.  It  is  quite  plain  she  could  not  take  care  of 
so  many  babies.  She  must  let  them  all  look  out  for 
themselves. 

Still  Mrs.  Fly  shows  much  sense  as  to  where  she 
puts  her  eggs.  She  finds  a  place  where  they  will 
be  likely  to  live  and  get  food  and  grow. 

If  the  place  is  too  wet  the  baby  flies  would  drown 
when  they  leave  the  egg.  If  the  place  is  too  dry, 
they  would  wither  up  and  die.  Then,  too,  they 
must  have  soft  food. 


Seaside  and  Wayside. 


A  Tavern  by  the  Way. 


The  fly  does  not 
lay  her  eggs  on  a 
stone  or  a  piece  of 
wood.  She  lays  them 
in  some  kind  of  food. 

The  fly  can  live  all 
summer  if  it  has  a 
fair  chance.  Cold 
kills  flies.  A  frosty 
day  will  kill  them. 
Some  few  flies,  like 
a  few  of  the  wasps, 
hide,  and  live  over 
winter  in  a  torpid 
state,  and  in  the 
spring  they  come  out 
to  rear  new  swarms. 

Birds,  spiders, 
wasps,  cats,  dogs,  and 
some  other  animals 
eat  flies.  These  crea- 
tures kill  flies  by  mill- 
ions. People  kill  flies 
with  poison  and  fly- 
traps. If  so  many  were 
not  killed,  we  should 
be  overrun  with  them. 


Mrs.   Fly  and  her   Foes.  65 

In  the  South  is  a  plant  with  a  leaf  like  a  jug.  On 
the  seam  of  this  leaf  hang  drops  of  honey.  Its 
juice  can  make  the  flies  drunk.1 

Flies  like  this  juice.  But  as  soon  as  they  get  it 
they  turn  dizzy  and  act  just  like  drunken  men. 
They  fall  into  the  jug-like  space  of  the  leaf  and 
soon  die.  One  of  these  plants  will  kill  many  flies 
in  one  day. 

Many  of  our  best  birds  live  on  flies,  and  if  our 
birds  were  all  dead  we  should  have  much  greater 
trouble  with  the  flies. 

In  the  autumn  you  will  see  flies  sitting  about  as 
if  they  feel  dull  and  ill.  If  you  look  carefully  you 
will  see  that  the  back  part  of  the  body  is  white.  It 
seems  to  be  covered  with  meal  or  mould. 

Soon  the  fly  dies.  This  white  dust  is  a  disease 
of  the  fly.  It  does  not  curl  up  its  legs  when  it  dies 
from  this  cause.  They  are  stiff  and  spread  out. 
The  fly  looks  like  a  live  fly.  If  you  touch  it,  it 
crumbles  to  dust. 

All  around  such  a  dead  fly  you  will  see  a  ring  of 
white  mould.  This  is  perhaps  a  real  mould,  or  tiny 
plant,  that  seizes  on  the  body  of  the  fly.  It  uses  up 
all  the  soft  parts,  and  so  kills  it,  leaving  only  the  dry 
shell. 

There  is  another  strange  thing  about  this.     The 

1  See  Reader,  Seaside  and  Wayside  No.  III.,  Lesson  XIII. 


66  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

body  of  a  fly  that  dies  in  this  way  is  rent  or  burst 
open.  The  fly  looks  as  if  this  dust  or  mould  had 
grown  large  in  the  body  and  so  torn  it  open. 


LESSON    XIX. 
OF   WHAT    USE   ARE    FLIES? 

How  often  people  cry  out,  "  Oh,  I  wish  there 
were  no  flies  !  What  is  the  use  of  a  fly  ?  " 

But  all  things  that  God  has  made  have  their  uses. 
And  all  God's  works  are  worthy  of  study. 

You  have  learned  that  worms  are  of  great  use. 
Let  us  see  if  Mrs.  Fly  does  any  good  in  the  world. 

Mrs.  Fly  is  of  great  use  to  man.  She  helps  keep 
him  in  health.  Do  you  think  that  very  strange  ? 

People  say,  "  Oh,  these  dirty  flies ! "  And  yet 
these  "  dirty  flies "  help  to  keep  the  world  clean  ! 

Now  you  'know  that  over  all  the  world,  great 
numbers  of  animals  die  each  minute,  and  many  of 
their  bodies  lie  on  the  ground  and  decay. 

Such  bodies  in  decay  cause  disease  and  death  to 
men.  In  winter,  and  in  cold  places,  such  things  do 
not  decay  so  fast,  and  so  do  not  make  these  bad  odors. 

But  in  hot  days,  if  such  dead  things  lie  about, 
they  will  poison  the  air.  Soon  we  should  all 
be  ill. 


Of  what   Use  are   Flies  ?  67 

The  work  of  Mrs.  Fly  is  to  lay  many  eggs  in 
these  dead  bodies.  In  a  few  hours  these  eggs  turn 
to  grubs,  and  these  grubs  to  little  live  worms,  which 
begin  to  eat  as  fast  as  they  can. 

Soon  they  leave  only  dry  bones,  which  can  do  no 
harm.  They  change  the  dead  stuff  into  their  own 
fat,  live  bodies. 

You  know  that  the  crabs  are  among  the  street- 
cleaners  of  the  sea.  So  the  flies  are  among  the 
street-cleaners  of  the  air  and  land. 

Did  you  ever  watch  flies  dart  about,  here  and 
there,  with  a  flight  like  hawks?  They  are  eating 
up  small,  evil  things,  too  small  for  us  to  see.  But 
these  are  yet  big  enough  to  hurt  us  if  we  should  get 
them  into  our  lungs. 

Ask  your  teacher  to  tell  you  a  little  about  your 
lungs. 

In  and  about  our  homes  many  bits  of  things  drop, 
and  might  decay  and  mould.  This  would  make  the 
air  foul.  But  the  busy  and  greedy  fly  drinks  up  all 
the  soft  part  of  these  things. 

So  we  see  that  what  we  call  the  dirty  flies  help 
to  clean  away  much  dirt.  It  is  true  too,  that  flies 
carry  poison  on  their  feet  and  trunks  from  place  to 
place.  In  this  way  they  do  great  harm. 

The  fly  serves  for  food  for  many  birds,  and  fish 
and  frogs,  and  some  insects.  Some  of  these  things 


68  Seaside  and   Wayside. 

we  use  for  our  food.  Others  are  full  of  beauty,  or 
are  of  use  to  us,  each  in  its  own  way. 

Thus,  though  the  fly  is  often  a  trouble  to  us, 
we  find  it  is  not  without  its  uses.  Look  at  one  of 
these  little  creatures  through  a  glass  that  will  mag- 
nify it.  You  will  see  that  the  poor  insect  has  really 
much  beauty. 

From  what  you  have  read  in  this  lesson  you  must 
not  think  that  all  foul  smells  kill,  nor  that  things 
that  have  no  bad  smell  are  always  safe.  There  are 
some  gases  that  have  no  odor  at  all,  which  yet  are 
very  deadly. 

LESSON   XX. 
A   SWARM    OF    FLIES. 

HAVE  you  heard  people  speak  of  swarms  of  flies  ? 
By  a  swarm  of  flies  we  mean  a  great  number  of 
flies  rather  near  together.  By  a  swarm  of  bees  we 
mean  a  number  of  bees  that  live  and  work  in  one 
place.  A  swarm  of  bees  divides  the  work  of  its 
hive.  It  has  one  queen  bee.  She  is  the  mother 
and  ruler  of  the  rest. 

But  flies  have  no  home  where  they  live  in  com- 
mon. They  have  no  work.  They  have  no  one 
mother  or  queen,  for  whom  the  rest  work.  Each 
mother  fly  drops  her  eggs  where  it  seems  best  to 


A  Swarm  of  Flies.  69 

her.  Then  she  goes  off.  She  leaves  her  children 
to  grow  as  best  they  can. 

I  have  said  that  the  fly  likes  best  to  place  her 
eggs  on  a  piece  of  fresh  meat. 

These  eggs  soon  turn  to  worms  or  grubs,  and  so 
spoil  the  meat.  To  keep  the  meat  from  the  flies 
the  cook  puts  a  cover  over  it.  The  cover  is  often 
made  of  wire  net. 

"  Now,"  says  the  cook,  "  I  can  keep  away  that 
dirty  fly." 

But  Mrs.  Fly  says,  "  Oh,  can  you,  Mrs.  Cook  ?  We 
will  see  about  that." 

So  Mrs.  Fly  sits  on  top  of  the  wire  cover.  She 
puts  her  little  egg  tube  through  one  of  the  fine 
holes  in  the  net.  She  drops  egg  after  egg  from  the 
tube.  The  eggs  fall  right  on  the  meat,  just  where 
Mrs.  Fly  wishes  them  to  be. 

Then  the  cook  cries  out,  "  How  ever  did  that  fly 
get  to  my  meat  ?  " 

Is  it  not  strange  that  Mrs.  Fly  knows  that  her 
egg  tube  is  the  right  size  to  go  through  the  mesh 
of  the  wire  net?  How  does  she  know  that  the 
eggs  will  fall  on  the  meat? 

Flies  do  another  queer  thing.  If  many  flies  are 
in  a  room,  and  you  begin  to  chase  them  to  kill 
them,  they  hide.  They  creep  into  holes  and  cracks. 

They  hide  in  curtains.     They  go  behind  pictures, 


70  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

After  the  hunt  is  over,  out  they  come,  one  by 
one! 

Flies  also  know  how  to  sham  death,  "play 
dead,"  you  would  say.  If  you  hit  one  and  make  it 
fall,  it  will  lie  very  still, ^,nd  seem  to  be  dead.  Then, 
after  a  little,  it  softly  spreads  out  its  legs  and  its 
wings.  Then  it  shakes  itself.  A  moment  more,  off 
it  goes. 

This  fashion  of  making  believe  to  be  dead  does 
not  belong  to  flies  only.  Nearly  all  insects,  and 
many  other  animals,  sham  death.  It  is  worth  while 
to  watch  and  see  how  well  they  do  it. 

When  a  fly  is  killed  other  flies  come  to  eat  up 
its  body.  They  put  their  trunks  or  mouth  tubes  on 
the  dead  fly  and  begin  to  suck.  Soon  the  body  is 
sucked  dry  of  all  its  juice.  It  is  only  a  dry  shell. 

I  will  tell  you  something  that  you  can  do  with  a 
dead  fly.  If  it  has  not  been  dead  so  long  that  it 
has  grown  too  stiff  you  can  make  the  wings  move. 
Hold  it  by  the  body.  Gently  tip  up  one  wing.  As 
you  lift  up  one  wing  the  other  will  rise  too.  They 
move  together.  It  is  as  if  they  were  set  on  a  little 
spring. 

It  is  as  wrong  to  be  cruel  to  flies  as  to  larger  crea- 
tures. If  they  are  to  be  killed,  do  it  quickly,  and 
give  as  little  pain  as  possible.  If  we  do  cruel  acts, 
we  make  our  hearts  hard  and  bad. 


Some   Queer   Flies.  71 

LESSON    XXI. 
SOME    QUEER   FLIES. 

ALTHOUGH  flies  are  of  use,  they  also  do  evil  to 
men  in  many  ways.  It  is  well  to  look  at  things  on 
all  sides. 

The  fly  you  have  been  reading  about  is  the  com- 
mon house-fly.  That  fly,  with  its  noise,  dirt,  and 
spoiling  of  food  by  laying  eggs  in  it,  is  bad  enough. 
But  yet  the  house-fly  makes  the  least  trouble  of  any 
of  its  kind. 

There  are  many  kinds  of  flies.  To  the  family  of 
flies  belong  gnats,  midges,  mosquitoes,  and  the  big 
daddy-long-legs  with  wings. 

You  know  well  how  some  of  these  things  sting, 
you  say  "  bite,"  you.  Mr.  Daddy-long-legs  hurts  the 
grass  lands  with  his  grubs,  which  spoil  grass  roots 
and  the  shoots  of  plants. 

There  is  a  fly  called  a  "  gall-fly  "  because  it  bites 
trees,  and  lays  eggs  in  twigs.  Then  upon  the  twigs 
grow  over  the  eggs  round  balls  called  "  galls,"  and 
these  injure  the  trees. 

There  is  also  the  "  bot-fly,"  which  lays  its  eggs  on 
the  hide  of  the  horse.  The  egg  causes  the  skin  of 
the  horse  to  itch.  He  licks  the  place,  and  the  egg 
goes  into  his  stomach. 


72  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

The  egg  of  the  bot-fly  is  apt  to  make  the  horse 
sick.  The  grub  eats  holes  in  the  stomach  of  the 
horse.  That  makes  the  horse  sick.  The  farmer 
will  say  that  his  horse  is  sick  with  u  bots." 

In  Africa  flies  kill  horses  and  oxen  by  biting  them. 
The  bite  poisons  the  cattle  and  causes  fever. 

Farmers  will  tell  you  of  a  very  bad  fly  that  spoils 
wheat  and  other  grain.  It  is  called  the  "  Hessian  "  fly. 

Flies,  as  they  flit  from  place  to  place,  sometimes 
carry  with  them  the  poison  of  disease,  as  of  sores 
and  ulcers.  Thus  they  spread  these  troubles  among 
people. 

But  while  I  tell  you  of  that,  I  must  not  fail  to  say 
that  flies,  as  they  go  to  flowers  for  honey,  carry 
the  dust  of  the  flowers  from  one  to  another.  This 
helps  new  flowers  to  grow. 

There  is  a  large  and  handsome  bright  green  fly, 
very  fine  to  look  at,  which  bites  horses  and  worries 
them.  It  is  called  the  "  horse-fly."  In  some  lands 
a  small  sand-fly  causes  sore  eyes. 

Flies  have  been  on  the  earth  about  as  long  as 
men  have,  or  a  little  longer,  and  there  are  some 
dead  flies  worth  a  great  deal  of  money. 

How  is  that  ?  These  are  flies  in  amber.  Amber 
is  clear,  hard,  and  bright  yellow.  It  is  used  for 
jewelry.  Sometimes  we  see  a  perfect  fly,  held  in  a 
clear,  light  mass  of  amber. 


In  Armor  Clad.  73 

How  did  it  come  there  ?  The  amber  was  once  a 
soft  gum  and  the  fly  lit  on  it.  It  stuck  fast,  and 
the  amber  flowed  over  it  and  grew  hard,  and  so 
buried  the  fly  in  a  clear,  golden  tomb.  A  piece  of 
amber  with  a  fly  in  it  will  bring  a  high  price. 

The  "Spanish  fly"  is  a  large  blue-green  beetle. 
It  is  very  handsome,  and  is  most  useful  when  it  is 
dead.  It  is  used  in  medicine.  It  makes  blisters  on 
the  skin. 

Do  you  say,  "  Oh,  blisters  are  very  bad  ! "  Yes, 
they  cause  pain.  But  even  pain  can  be  of  use  in 
this  world.  The  blister,  though  it  pains  us,  is  of 
use.  It  cures  what  might  be  a  worse  pain. 

This  Spanish  fly  is  not  a  fly  at  all.  It  is  a  beetle 
which  has  been  given  a  fly's  name.  It  is  put  here 
at  the  end  of  the  lessons  on  flies,  because  in  the 
next  lessons  you  are  to  read  about  beetles. 


LESSON    XXII. 
IN    ARMOR    CLAD. 

Go  to  the  garden  or  to  the  house  plants,  and 
after  a  little  search  you  will  find  one  of  the  wonders 
of  the  world. 

You  will  find  a  small,  horny,  shining,  red  thing 
with  black  spots  on  its  back.  "  Why  ! "  you  say 


74  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

"  that  is  only  a  lady-bug,  or  lady-bird.     We  say  a 
little  rhyme  to  it." 
The  rhyme  is  — 

"  Lady-bird,  lady-bird, 

Fly  a^ay  home  ! 
Your  house  is  on  fire 

And  your  children  will  roam." 

Yes,  it  is  one  of  the  beetles,  and  every  beetle 
is  a  wonder.  Come,  study  this  wonder. 

The  winged  insects  are  divided  into  two  great 
classes,  Eaters  and  Drinkers.  That  is  what  their 
Latin  names  mean.  Butterflies,  house-flies,  bees, 
and  others,  are  drinkers.  That  is,  they  get  their 
food  by  sucking  it  through  a  pipe  or  tube. 

This  tube  is  on  the  fore  part  of  the  head ;  it  is 
really  the  upper  lip  grown  long  and  round. 

The  other  great  class,  the  Eaters,  eat  their  food 
with  their  mouths.  Some  suck  or  lick  it;  some 
use  their  jaws  to  crush  and  break  their  food. 

Beetles  belong  to  the  class  Eaters. 

The  beetles  are  covered  with  a  hard,  horny  shell, 
like  a  case.  In  this  they  are  like  the  old-time 
soldiers,  who  wore  armor  from  head  to  foot. 

Beetles  belong  to  the  great  family  of  the  ring- 
made  creatures.  Take  a  large,  round  beetle,  with 
big  jaws,  feelers,  and  legs.  Does  he  not  look  much 
like  Mr.  Crab,  who  is  also  ring-made  ? 


In  Armor   Clad. 


75 


In  the  pictures  in  this  lesson  you  see  Mr.  Crab 
and  Mr.  Beetle.  This  is  a  large  beetle  that  likes 
to  live  among  the  grasses  and  weeds  near  the  sea- 
shore. When  he  and  Mr.  Crab  meet  on  the  sand 
they  may  think  they  are  cousins. 


Mr.  Beetle. 


Now  let  us  get  a  beetle  and  look  at  him  closely. 
You  will  often  find  dead  beetles  on  your  path  or 
in  the  grass.  You  can  take  them  to  pieces  and 
compare  them  with  what  you  read  about  them. 

The  first  thing  that  you  will  notice  in  the  beetle 


76 


Seaside  and  Wayside. 


is  the  bard  case  over  the  wing.  The  wing-cases 
look  like  little  shells,  and  have  a  nice  hinge  to  hold 
them  in  their  place. 

These  two  wing-covers  fit   close    to  each   other 
over  the  beetle's  back..  When  he  flies  he  lifts  them 


Mr.  Crab. 


away  from  the  wings.  When  you  take  off  these 
covers  you  will  see  lying  under  the  cases  a  pair 
of  neatly  folded  wings.  These  wings  are  made 
much  as  Mrs.  Wasp's  are. 

The   cases   are    used  for  armor,    not  for    flying. 


In  Armor   Clad.  77 

They  are  really  a  pair  of  wings.  The  fine  silken 
under-wings  are  the  pair  with  which  beetles  fly. 

There  are  some  beetles  that  do  not  have  this 
second  pair,  and  so  cannot  fly.  There  are  some 
that  have  the  upper  pair  so  short  that  they  do  not 
half  cover  the  body.  Beetles  which  do  not  have 
the  lower  wings  creep  from  place  to  place. 

Watch  a  beetle  as  he  crawls  on  the  ground. 
Now  see  him !  When  his  back  flies  open  two 
bright-hued  shells  rise  up.  This  crawling  thing 
sweeps  into  the  air  on  a  pair  of  wide  thin  wings ! 

The  part  of  the  beetle's  body  that  is  under  the 
wings  has  rings  like  those  of  the  wasp.  The  body 
is  made  in  the  three  parts  insects  have.  The  wings 
and  six  legs  are  fastened  on  what  you  would  call 
the  chest  or  middle  part. 

The  wings  fastened  on  the  upper  or  back  part  of 
the  beetle's  chest  fold  down  over  the  hind  part  of 
the  body.  On  the  end  of  the  hind  part  is  what 
is  called  "  the  egg-placer."  With  that  Mrs.  Beetle 
lays  her  eggs  in  safe  places. 

The  legs  and  feet  of  the  beetle  are  made  in 
joints.  They  have  hairs  on  them.  The  legs  are 
so  made  and  set  that  they  cannot  spread  out  as  far 
as  those  of  spiders,  wasps,  flies. 

Now  here  is  Mr.  Beetle's  head.  It  has  two  jaws 
and  two  feelers,  the  mouth,  and  the  eyes.  There  is 


78  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

a  little  horn  shield  over  the  mouth.  In  fact,  the 
whole  beetle  is  in  a  snug  horn  coat.  We  may  call 
this  coat  a  suit  of  armor. 

The  eyes  of  the  beetle  are  like  those  of  the  fly. 
Very  many  eyes  are  set  in  what  seem  to  be  two  big 
eyes.  The  beetle  does  not  have  three  single  eyes  on 
the  top  of  his  head.  Sometimes  he  has  two  small 
simple  eyes  at  the  back  of  his  head. 

The  splendid  colors  of  Mr.  Beetle  are  on  his  horn 
coat.  I  caught  a  beetle  last  night  which  had  the 
under  part  of  his  breast  covered  with  close  hairs, 
so  that  it  looked  like  velvet.  He  seemed  to  have 
on  a  rich  brown  velvet  vest. 

LESSON    XXIII. 
WHEN    MR.  BEETLE    WAS    YOUNG. 

IN  the  lessons  about  the  Ant,  Fly,  Wasp,  Bee, 
and  others,  you  have  heard  that  the  young  insect 
makes  three  changes. 

First  it  is  a  small  white  or  light-colored  egg; 
then  a  fat,  greedy  larva;  then  a  pupa. 

The  insects  you  have  thus  far  heard  of,  pass 
through  all  these  changes  in  a  short  time.  So  do 
some  of  the  young  beetles.  But  there  are  beetles 
which  spend  one,  two,  three,  even  more,  years,  as 
eggs  and  grubs. 


When   Mr.   Beetle  was  Young. 


79 


The  long  part  of 
the  lives  of  these 
other  insects  comes 
after  they  get  their 
wings.  The  short 
part  of. a  beetle's  life 
generally  comes  after 
he  is  winged. 

You  will  not  care 
to  hear  about  the 
beetle  while  he  is 
only  an  egg.  As  an 
egg  he  lies  quiet 
where  the  mother 
beetle  hid  him.  These 
eggs  are  placed  in 
earth  or  in  water. 
Sometimes  they  are 
put  into  the  bodies  of 
dead  animals,  or  into 
holes  in  trees,  or  into 
fruit.  Some  kinds  of 
beetles  choose  one 
place,  some  another, 
for  their  eggs. 

After  a  while  the 
larva,  comes,  out. 


Larva  before  it  ha§  Wings. 


8o  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

Sometime  you  may  find  a  long,  soft,  stupid  white 
worm,  with  its  body  made  in  rings.  It  has  two  big 
eyes,  two  jaws,  no  feet,  or,  perhaps,  very  small  ones, 
never  any  wings.  Would  you  guess  it  was  Mrs. 
Beetle's  child  ?  By  and  by  it  will  have  strong  wings, 
long,  strong  legs,  a  horny  body,  and  very  often  colors 
like  a  rainbow. 

But  this  which  you  call  a  "  white  worm  "  is  the 
beetle  larva  after  it  is  born  from  the  egg.  Some- 
times it  has  no  eyes.  It  is  always  very  greedy. 
Beetle  larvae  will  eat  almost  anything  but  metals. 
They  harm  wood,  trees,  'fruit,  flowers,  meal,  furs, 
clothes,  by  gnawing  and  eating  these  things. 

The  larva  of  beetles  looks  like  the  larva  of  butter- 
flies. It  has  no  wings.  No  larva  ever  has  wings. 

The  change  of  getting  wings  must  come  when  the 
larva  has  gone  into  the  pupa  cradle.  Often  in  this 
state  it  lies  as  if  asleep  or  dead. 

When  it  is  a  pupa  it  rests  in  a  case  or  cradle 
shaped  much  like  a  hen's  egg.  There  the  pupa  lies, 
its  legs  folded  over  the  front  of  its  body,  its  wings 
packed  by  its  side,  its  jaws  and  feelers  laid  on  its 
breast.  It  looks  very  much  like  a  baby  laid  asleep 
in  a  bed.  It  is  not  pretty  like  a  dear  baby.  In  fact, 
it  is  ugly  to  look  at. 

The  larva  could  eat,  walk,  roll,  or  swim.  The 
pupa  in  this  little  case  can  do  nothing  but  wait. 


How  to  Learn  about  Beetles.  81 

The  full-grown  beetle  can  fly,  swim,  eat,  walk,  and 
is  often  a  thing  of  great  beauty. 

If  you  dig  about  the  roots  of  plants  or  under 
stones,  you  will,  no  doubt,  find  larva  and  pupa  to 
look  at.  It  is  well  to  seek  out  these  things  for 
yourselves.  Handle  them  gently;  these  are  liv- 
ing things. 

In  some  books  you  may  read  of  a  state  of  the 
insect  called  the  image  state.  This  name  is  given 
to  the  full-grown,  perfect  insect.  It  means  that  it 
has  reached  the  same  form  that  its  mother  had, 
which  laid  the  egg.  Larva  means  mask,  and  pupa 
means  baby. 

LESSON    XXIV. 
HOW   TO   LEARN   ABOUT   BEETLES. 

No  class  of  insects  has  been  more  studied  and 
written  about  than  beetles.  Why  is  this  ?  They 
are  not  as  wise  as  the  ants.  They  do  not  build 
homes  and  cities,  as  bees  and  wasps  do.  They 
make  no  honey  and  no  wax.  They  have  not  the 
many  trades  of  that  busy  Mrs.  Wasp. 

There  are  a  few  beetles  which  make  little  mud 
cells,  or  balls  of  dirt  for  their  eggs,  or  weave  little 
nests  for  the  pupa.  But  their  work  is  poor  and  rude, 
and  not  as  fine  as  Mrs.  Wasp  can  do. 


82  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

No  doubt  the  reason  why  beetles  have  had  so 
much  notice  is,  that  there  are  very  many  of  them,  of 
very  many  kinds.  They  live  where  we  can  often 
see  them.  We  can  easily  take  them  to  pieces,  to 
study  their  parts,  for.  their  bodies  are  firm  and 
strong. 

The  parts  of  their  bodies  are  very  curious.  Bee- 
tles can  be  kept  a  long  time  after  they  are  dead. 
They  will  not  spoil  as  soon  as  soft-bodied  insects. 

After  all,  the  chief  reason  of  the  notice  taken  of 
beetles  is  their  great  beauty.  It  is  a  beauty  of  color 
and  shape.  Often  the  cases  are  lined  and  dotted  as 
if  carved  with  great  care. 

Would  you  like  to  have  some  beetles  to  keep,  to 
look  at  and  show  to  your  friends  ?  Let  me  tell  you 
how  to  get  them. 

Have  a  sheet  of  thick  pasteboard,  to  fasten  them 
on.  When  you  walk  out,  carry  with  you  a  bottle 
with  a  wide  mouth  and  a  good  cork.  If  this  bottle 
has  broken  laurel  leaves  in  it,  the  beetles  will  die  as 
soon  as  you  put  them  in. 

Or,  you  can  kill  the  beetles  with  a  little  ether. 
Or,  you  can  take  up  the  beetle  with  a  little  forked 
stick,  and  plunge  it  into  very  hot  or  boiling  water. 

"  Oh,"  you  say,  "  that  would  be  so  cruel !  "  But  the 
truth  is,  the  beetle  dies  the  instant  he  is  plunged 
into  hot  water,  He  has  no  time  to  feel  pain, 


How  to  Learn  about  Beetles.  83 

Why  do  these  things  kill  beetles  so  quickly? 
Here,  now,  is  a  great  fact  that  you  must  know.  The 
insects  do  not  breathe  through  the  mouth  or  nose, 
as  you  do.  They  have  no  lungs.  They  breathe 
through  pipes  or  tubes,  wound  over  all  the  body. 
These  tubes  are  very  fine,  and  too  small  to  be  seen 
with  the  naked  eye.  They  are 
held  open  by  a  little  stiff,  spiral 
thread,  like  this : 

These  tubes  spread  even  to  the  legs  and  feet  of 
the  insect.  They  reach  the  open  air  by  many  open- 
ings, or  breath  holes.  Now,  when  you  plunge  the 
beetle  into  hot  water,  ether,  or  laurel  odor,  all  its 
tubes  are  filled,  and  it  dies  at  once.  When  your 
beetle  is  dead,  set  it  on  the  sheet  of  stiff  paper. 

Draw  the  legs,  feelers,  and  jaws  into  place  with 
a  pin  or  toothpick.  Then  fasten  the  beetle  to  the 
paper  with  a  tiny  drop  of  thick  glue  put  under  the 
body.  Or,  you  can  put  a  fine  needle  or  pin  through 
the  body.  Be  very  sure  that  your  beetle  is  quite 
dead  before  you  put  the  pin  into  him. 

If  you  take  this  way  of  saving  beetles,  you  will 
soon  have  very  many,  of  all  colors,  sizes,  and  shapes. 
They  will  be  brown,  black,  red,  green,  golden.  I 
can  hardly  tell  you  how  pretty  the  beetles  are ! 

Put  some  on  the  paper,  with  the  wing-cases 
raised,  and  the  flying-wings  drawn  out  from  be- 


84  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

neath.  The  under  wings  are  larger  than  the  upper. 
You  will  wonder  that  the  beetle  can  pack  them  in 
the  cases. 

The  feelers  of  beetles  take  many  forms.  Some 
are  like  plumes,  some  are  like  scales  or  leaves, 
some  like  clubs.  Some  are  nearly  round  like 
balls,  some  are  cone-shaped,  some  plain  and 
straight ;  some  are  bent  like  a  new  moon. 

A  farmer  or  gardener  will  like  your  beetles  better 
dead  than  alive.  As  he  will  tell  you,  the  beetles 
and  their  larvae  are  very  greedy  things.  They  often 
eat  leaves  and  spoil  crops  and  trees. 


LESSON    XXV. 
THE    ROSE    BEETLE. 

THE  chief  family  of  the  beetles  is  a  large  one. 
It  is  found  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  The  beetles 
that  belong  to  it  are  large,  and  often  of  fine  color 
and  shape. 

In  old  times  the  people  of  Egypt  called  one  of 
this  family  the  sacred  beetle.  They  kept  it  as  an 
object  of  worship.  They  often  wore  a  stone  or 
metal  image  of  it,  to  keep  themselves  from  harm. 

Let  us  now  study  one  of  this  family.  It  is  called 
the  Rose  Beetle.  That  is  a  very  pretty  name.  The 


The  Rose  Beetle. 


beetle  itself  is  pretty. 
It  chooses  a  pretty 
home  and  dainty  food. 

Some  call  this  the 
Golden  Beetle,  be- 
cause of  it's  color. 
It  is  a  fine  large 
beetle,  with  a  thick 
body,  round  at  the 
tail  part.  The  feelers 
are  short  and  club 
shaped.  The  body, 
head,  legs,  and  wing- 
cases  are  a  rich  golden 
green,  with  silver 
spots  and  lines. 

This  beetle  does 
not  hold  the  wing- 
cases  apart  when  '  it 
flies.  It  tips  them 
only  a  little.  The 
wide,  thin  wings  come 
out  from  beneath 
them. 

The  rose  beetle  is 
seen  most  in  May 
and  June.  You  will 


The  Rose  Beetle. 


86  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

find  it  in  the  garden,  about  the  flowers.  Its  chief 
food  is  honey  and  flower  petals.  Its  mouth  is  not 
horny,  but  soft  and  skin-like. 

The  feelers  have  ten  joints,  and  wave  lightly  as 
the  beetle  flies.  It  likes  the  sunshine.  When  it 
flashes  about  in  the  light,  it  looks  like  a  piece  of 
melted  gold  with  green  tints  on  it. 

The  rose  beetle  chooses  for  its  home  and  food 
the  brightest  and  largest  flowers.  It  digs  deep  into 
the  hearts  of  the  roses.  It  sucks  the  honey  and 
chews  the  petals. 

When  the  mother  rose  beetle  wishes  to  lay  her 
eggs,  she  finds  a  place  at  the  foot  of  a  tree.  She 

goes  down  among  the  roots, 
where  the  wood-  is  old  and 
soft.  Then  she  puts  her  eggs 
between  the  bark  and  the 
wood. 

Sometimes  she  changes  her 
whole  plan,  and  puts  her  eggs 
into  an  ant's  nest !     The  ants 
do  not  seem  vexed  at  this. 
The  larva  of  the  rose  beetle  is  a  fat,  round,  white 
thing,  like  a  thick  worm.     The  head  is  round,  and 
of   a  pale  brown  color.     The  thin   skin  has  hairs 
on  it. 

These  larvae  move  very  slowly,  and  always  rest 


The   Rose   Beetle.  87 

upon  one  side.  They  have  strong  jaws,  and  their 
feelers  have  five  joints.  A  number  of  them  live 
together.  They  are  dull  and  lazy,  and  always  eat- 
ing. They  eat  leaves  and  soft  wood. 

While  the  weather  is  warm,  -the  larvae  keep  near 
the  top  of  the  soil.  When  it  is  cold,  they  dig  down, 
even  one  or  two  feet,  and  lie  asleep  until  spring 
comes  again. 

They  live  in  this  way  for  three  years.  Then  they 
make  a  round  or  egg-shaped  ball.  They  make  the 
ball  of  grains  of  earth,  bits  of  dead  leaves,  and  grass. 
Or,  they  use  the  wood  or  sawdust  they  have  cut  up 
with  their  jaws.  They  fasten  all  this  stuff  together 
with  glue  from  their  mouths. 

When  the  larvae  are  shut  up  in  this  ball,  they 
change  very  quickly.  At  first  the  ball,  or  case, 
seems  full  of  a  milky  fluid.  Then  the  legs  and 
wings  grow.  After  a  few  weeks  the  white  worm 
has  changed  to  a  fine  beetle  that  looks  like  a  jewel. 

Some  of  these  beetles  are  so  fine  that  they  are 
put  into  hoops  of  gold  for  ear-rings  and  brooches. 
In  the  island  of  Manila  ladies  keep  rose  beetles  in 
tiny  cages  for  pets ! 

There  is  a  beetle  much  like  the  rose  beetle.  It 
is  called  the  May  or  June  bug.  These  June  bugs 
come  in  great  numbers.  They  eat  the  leaves  of 
trees,  and  even  kill  trees  in  this  way.  They  fly  by 


88  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

night;  and  they  like  to  get  into  a  room  where  a 
lamp  is  burning.  They  are  a  golden  brown  color. 

They  blunder  about,  making  a  great  buzz  with 
their  horny  wings.  They  hit  their  heads  on  walls 
and  panes  of  glass.  Some  people  are  afraid  of  them. 
That  is  foolish,  for  they  can  do  no  harm  to  them. 

These  June  bugs  hide  all  day  in  the  shade. 
They  do  not  like  the  sun.  It  is  no  wonder  there 
are  so  many  of  them,  as  each  mother  lays  forty  eggs. 
The  larvae  do  much  damage  by  eating  plant  roots. 

Watch  June  beetles  to  see  how  they  lift  their 
wing-covers  when  about  to  fly.  Look  well  at  the 
folding  of  the  inner  wings. 

If  you  open  a  door  or  window  on  a  warm  night 
and  set  a  light  in  the  room,  you  may  soon  catch  very 
many  pretty  beetles  which  fly  about  to  feast  on  the 
sweet  white  flowers  that  open  after  dark. 


LESSON    XXVI. 
PRINCES   AND    GIANTS. 

BEETLES  vary  much  in  size.  Some  are  so  small 
that  you  can  hardly  see  them  as  they  creep  among 
the  grasses. 

Others  are  so  large  that  a  child  might  fear  them. 
He  might  think  that  with  their  thick  legs  and  claw- 


Princes  and   Giants. 


89 


like  feet  and  strong  jaws  they  must  surely  be  able 

to  hurt  him.     But   beetles   are   quiet,  mild   things, 

and  seldom  pinch  or  bite  any- 
body. 

Why  do  these  beetles  have 

these  strong  coats  like  mail  ? 

To   keep    them    from    harm. 

They  live  under  stones,  and 

among   roots,  and   dig   about 

in  the  earth.      Their  horny  bodies  protect  them. 
Many  more  animals,  than  now  do  so,  might  eat  the 

beetles  if  they  had  not  the  horny  coats  to  shield  them. 
Fish,  birds,  and  other  animals  eat  them  and  their 

grubs.     Enough  are  killed  and  eaten  to  prevent  the 

world  being  too  full  of  beetles. 

Beetles  have  few  weapons.     I  will  tell  you  of  one 

or   two    of   them.     Stag   beetles    have   very   large, 

strong  jaws,  and 
can  give  a  good 
pinch  with  them. 
One  family  of 
beetles  is  called 
the  "  Oil  family." 
They  have  an  oil 
in  them.  They 

drop  this  from  their  legs  when  they  are  touched. 

This  oil  has  a  bad  smell.     It  can  make  a  blister 


90  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

on  the  skin.  Because  of  this  oil  people  let  them 
alone,  and  perhaps  small  animals  do  the  same. 

There  is  a  beetle  that  carries  a  gun  !  This  is 
like  a  gun  with  several  barrels,  for  it  can  be  fired 
three  or  four  times  without  being  reloaded !  Oh, 
how  can  that  be  ? 

Near  the  tail  of  the  gun  beetle  is  a  little  sack  or 
bag  full  of  fluid.  When  an  enemy  comes  near  him, 
Mr.  Beetle,  as  he  runs,  throws  off  a  drop  of  this  fluid. 
The  fluid  flies  out  of  the  bag  with  a  little  bang.  It 
sounds  like  the  report  of  a  tiny  gun,  and  makes  a 
kind  of  mist  or  blue  smoke. 

Three  or  four  of  these  shots  follow  each  other. 
This  beetle  is  a  small  fellow.  Big  beetles  like  to 
chase  him.  When  the  wee  gun  goes  off  in  the  big 
beetle's  face,  the  big  beetle  backs  away.  Then  he 
folds  down  his  feelers  and  stands  still.  He  acts 
very  much  as  a  dog  does  when  he  drops  his  tail 
between  his  legs  and  runs  off! 

These  little  gun-owning  beetles  live  in  damp 
places.  Often  a  group  of  them  will  hide  under  a 
stone.  If  you  lift  up  the  stone,  the  poor  beetles 
are  in  a  great  fright.  They  begin  to  fire  off  their 
guns  like  a  squad  of  soldiers. 

Now  after  talking  about  these  little  beetles,  let 
us  talk  of  great  ones.  I  told  you  some  beetles  are 
very  small,  and  some  are  very  large.  One  beetle 


Princes  and  Giants.  91 

is  so  big  that  it  is  called  the  Giant.  Another  is 
called  Goliath,  from  the  huge  giant  whom  King 
David  slew.  Others  are  called  Atlas  and  Hercu- 
les, from  tales  told,  in  old  times,  of  giants.  . 

The  very  large  beetles  live  in  hot  lands  and  are 
scarce.  Some  have  the  jaws  large  and  curved  like 
a  crab's  claw.  At  first  sight  you  might  think  them 
crabs.  Some  of  these  odd  ones  are  shown  in  the 
picture. 

The  colors  of  these  great  beetles  are  often  very 
splendid.  Some  of  them  have  long  horns  on  the 
front  of  their  heads.  Some  of  them  have  the  hind 
legs  so  large,  and  of  such  a  queer  shape,  that  they 
do  not  look  like  beetles. 

Som'e  of  these  giant  beetles  have  large  teeth  or 
knobs  upon  their  jaws;  they  need  them  to  crush 
and  break  their  food.  These  teeth  are  like  the 
knobs  on  Mr.  Crab's  claw,  which  he  uses  for  play- 
ing a  tune.  The  beetle  can  use  his  knobs  to  make 
music.  Beetles  are  fond  of  their  own  tunes.  Often 
they  make,  for  hours,  a  shrill  hum,  or  buzz.  They 
make  this  by  rubbing  their  wing-cases. 

There  is  a  great  beetle  in  Brazil  called  the  Prince 
of  Beetles.  He  gets  this  name  from  his  size  and 
beauty.  Some  of  the  princes  have  been  sold  for 
two  hundred  dollars  each. 

When  you  walk  in  the  field,  you  might  carry  a 


92  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

bottle  with  a  wide  mouth.  In  this  you  can  collect 
beetles  to  study.  It  may  be  very  pleasant  to  study 
them  when  you  go  home.  But  have  something  in 
the  bottle  to  kill  them,  for,  shut  up  in  a  small  space, 
and  frightened,  they  are  likely  to  pull  each  other  to 
pieces. 

LESSON    XXVII. 
THE   LITTLE    SEXTON. 

ONCE,  when  I  was  a  little  girl,  I  saw  a  dark  beetle 
standing  on  its  hind  pair  of  legs.  It  was  holding 
its  fore  legs  clasped  over  its  head,  as  you  can  hold 
up  your  hands. 

An  old  man  who  was  near  said,  "  That  is  a  holy 
bug,  and  shows  what  man  ought  to  do.  It  is  say- 
ing its  prayers.  People  call  it  the  *  praying  beetle.' " 

I  think  the  old  man  meant  what  he  said,  but 
of  course  the  beetle  was  neither  holy  nor  praying. 
The  queer  way  of  standing  was  only  one  of  the  odd 
ways  of  beetles.  Now  I  will  tell  you  of  another. 

Very  often  on  the  road  you  will  see  a  beetle,  or 
a  pair  of  beetles,  rolling  about  a  small  ball  like  a 
marble.  The  ball  is  of  dirt,  or  some  soft  stuff,  and 
is  often  larger  than  the  beetle.  But  she  rolls  it 
with  ease,  for  she  is  very  strong. 

The  beetle  is  not  playing  marbles  nor  base-ball. 


The  Little  Sexton.  93 

She  is  only  doing  her  work.  She  has  been  flying 
about,  looking  for  a  good  place  in  which  to  lay  her 
eggs,  and  now  she  has  gone  to  work  with  all  her 
might. 

She  lays  her  egg  in  a  morsel  of  the  stuff  of  which 
she  will  make  her  ball.  When  the  larva  comes 
from  the  egg,  this  ball  will  be  its  food  until  it  is 
strong  enough  to  crawl  about  and  seek  food  for 
itself.  The  beetle  moulds  the  soft  stuff  over  the 
egg,  like  a  pill.  Then,  as  she  rolls  it  about,  it  grows 
larger,  as  your  snowball  grows  when  you  roll  it 
about  in  the  snow. 

When  the  ball  is  large  enough,  Mrs.  Beetle  does 
not  leave  it  in  the  road  for  wheels  to  run  over  or 
feet  to  tread  upon.  She  seeks  a  place  where  the 
larva  may  be  safe  and  feed  well  when  it  comes  from 
the  egg. 

She  shows  much  sense  in  the  choice  of  a  place. 
She  drags  the  ball  along  between  her  hind  feet,  or 
she  pushes  it  with  her  fore  feet  or  her  hind  feet,  or 
rolls  it  along  toward  the  safe  place  which  she  has 
chosen.  If  the  ground  is  so  rough  that  she  cannot 
drag  her  ball,  she  carries  it  on  her  head. 

This  Mrs.  Beetle's  head  is  flat,  and  has  some  wee 
knobs  upon  it.  These  knobs  hold  her  load  firmly 
in  place  as  she  carries  it  along.  Did  you  ever  see 
a  boy  carry  a  box,  pail,  or  bundle  on  his  head  ? 


94  Seaside  and   Wayside. 

Perhaps  Mrs.  Beetle  finds  that  she  cannot,  with- 
out help,  take  her  ball  to  a  good  place.  Then  she 
flies  off,  and  soon  comes  back  with  other  beetles  of 
her  own  kind.  They  all  help  her  until  her  ball  is 
where  she  wishes  it  to  J3e.  How  does  she  tell  them 
what  she  needs?  Who  knows  that?  No  one.  I 
have  seen  four  or  five  beetles  at  work  on  one  ball. 

When  the  ball  is  in  the  right  spot,  Mrs.  Beetle 
digs  a  hole  with  her  jaws  and  horny  fore  legs. 
Then  she  rolls  the  ball  in.  She  fills  up  the  hole 
with  earth  and  presses  it  down  flat. 

This  is  not  the  only  beetle  that  buries  its  eggs. 
There  is  another  one,  called  the  Sexton  Beetle. 
When  it  finds  a  dead  bird,  or  mouse,  or  frog,  or 
other  small  animal,  it  sets  to  work  to  bury  it.  It 
digs  a  little  grave  for  it.  This  is  why  it  is  called  a 
sexton. 

This  beetle  begins  to  dig  under  the  dead  body. 
As  it  takes  out  the  earth,  the  dead  thing  sinks  more 
and  more.  At  last  it  is  deep  enough  to  be  covered, 
as  a  coffin  is  covered  in  a  grave. 

In  this  way  this  beetle  helps  to  keep  the  earth 
and  air  clean.  Is  that  why  it  buries  things  ?  Oh, 
no !  The  reason  the  beetle  does  this  is,  it  wants  to 
get  a  good  place  for  its  eggs. 

These  sexton  beetles  are  black,  with  yellow  bands. 
They  are  rather  large,  and  go  in  pairs.  You  might 


The  Little   Sexton. 


think  these  beetles  and  the  one  who  makes  the  ball 
would  be  dirty  from  their  work,  but  they  are  not. 

These  beetles  have  a  kind  of  oil  over  their  bodies. 
This   keeps  any  dirt  from  sticking  to   them.     So, 


The  Sexton  Beetle. 

though  they  work  in  dirty  places,  they  are  always 
clean  and  bright. 

These  burying  beetles  have  a  keen  scent.  They 
can  smell  a  dead  body  even  if  it  is  a  long  way  off. 
Let  us  watch  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sexton  Beetle  at  work. 
Here  is  a  dead  mouse,  Through  the  air  come  fly- 


96  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

ing  these  two  beetles.  Their  wings  hum  as  they 
come. 

When  they  alight,  Mr.  Beetle  goes  briskly  to  his 
work,  and  Mrs.  Beetle  stands  looking  on.  Her  work 
in  this  world  is  not  to  dig,  but  to  lay  eggs.  Before 
the  work  begins,  they  both  make  a  good  meal  off 
the  dead  mouse.  All  sexton  beetles  eat  flesh. 

Mr.  Beetle  works  a  while.  Then  he  drops  down 
as  if  very  tired,  and  sleeps.  Then  up  he  gets  and 
ploughs  furrow  after  furrow  about  the  mouse.  Mr. 
Beetle  uses  his  head  for  a  plough.  Now  the  dead 
body  has  sunk  out  of  sight.  Mr.  Beetle  has  put 
over  it  the  earth  he  took  out  from  the  grave  which 
he  made.  He  makes  all  the  little  grave  smooth  and 
trim. 

But  what  is  this  queer  little  fellow  doing  now  ? 
He  has  made  a  little  side  door  into  the  grave.  He 
and  Mrs.  Beetle  walk  in.  They  have  gone  to  take 
another  meal  from  the  mouse. 

When  their  dinner  is.  over,  Mrs.  Beetle  lays  some 
eggs  in  the  dead  body.  She  knows  that  when  the 
larvae  come  from  the  eggs,  they  will  like  to  eat  the 
food  which  they  will  find  all  around  them.  After 
the  eggs  are  laid,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Beetle  come  out 
into  the  air. 

Mr.  Beetle  fills  up  the  doorway.  Then  off  the 
two  fly  to  find  other  things  to  bury. 


The   Story   of  the   Stag   Beetle.  97 

The  larva  of  the  sexton  beetle  looks  much  like  a 
beach  flea  or  sand-hopper. 

Does  the  strength  of  beetles  surprise  you  ?  They 
have  strong,  sharp  jaws.  Once  I  found  a  fine  grass- 
green  beetle,  with  silver  spots.  I  wanted  him  for 
my  card  of  beetles*  I  tied  him  in  the  hem  of  my 
handkerchief  to  carry  him  home.  The  hem  was 
double,  but  he  ate  a  hole  through  it ;  then  away 
he  went. 

Once  I  shut  up  ten  beetles  in  a  box.  I  forgot 
them  for  two  days.  When  I  opened  the  box,  they 
were  all  dead.  They  had  killed  each  other.  The 
box  had  in  it  only  heads  and  legs  and  wings.  The 
last  beetle  that  had  been  left  had  lost  his  legs  and 
wings.  He  had  won  the  battle,  but  died  on  the 
field.  Some  other  great  captains  have  done  the 
same. 

LESSON    XXVIII. 
THE   STORY    OF   THE    STAG    BEETLE. 

AMONG  the  largest  beetles  that  we  have  in  this 
country  are  the  Stag  Beetles.  They  get  this  name 
from  the  size  of  their  jaws. 

If  you  look  at  the  picture,  you  will  see  that  the 
great  jaws  look  like  horns.  If  you  should  ever  see 
the  head  of  a  stag  or  deer,  you  may  notice  that 


98 


Seaside  and  Wayside. 


The  $tag  Beetles. 


this  beetle's  jaws  are 
very  like  the  stag's 
horns  in  shape. 

These  jaws  can 
give  a  very  hard 
pinch  in  time  of  need. 
Still  you  need  not  be 
afraid  of  the  stag 
beetle;  he  will  not 
hurt  you. 

The  use  of  these 
great  jaws  is  not  yet 
fully  known.  You 
will  see  that  they 
have  knobs  on  the 
inner  edge. 

Only  Mr.  Stag 
Beetle  has  these 
horns.  Mrs.  Stag 
Beetle  has  small  jaws, 
and  her  head  is  not 
so  wide  as  her  should- 
ers. Mr.  Stag  Beetle 
has  a  very  wide  head. 
He  needs  a  wide, 
strong  head  to  hold 
up  his  big  jaws. 


The  Story  of  the  Stag  Beetle. 


99 


If  you  will  look  at  the  picture  of  the  beetle  ii. 
Lesson  XXII.,1  you  will  see  that  its  feelers  are 
like  a  plume  of  six  feathers.  These  feathers  are 

so  set  that  the  beetle    

can  fold  them  on  each 
other  into  a  single 
club,  as  you  can  fold 
a  fan.  They  are 
called  scale-feelers. 

The  stag  beetle 
has  also  curious  feel- 
ers. They  are  made 
in  scales,  but  he  can- 
not close  them  into  a 
club.  The  scales  are 
set  like  the  teeth  of  a 
comb.  He  has  comb- 
feelers.  Perhaps  they  are  of  use  to  him  in  cleaning 
his  body  and  legs. 

These  stag  beetles  during  the  day  crawl  about  on 
trees.  They  fly  by  night.  Their  eggs  are  usually 
laid  in  the  trunks  of  old  oak-trees. 

The  larva  of  the  stag  beetle  has  six  strong  legs 
and  a  pair  of  strong  jaws  for  cutting  leaves  and 
wood.  The  bark,  wood,  leaves,  and  roots  of  the  oak 
and  willow  are  its  chief  food. 

1  See  page  75. 


loo  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

This  larva  is  very  large,  and  lies  with  its  body 
curled  in  a  half  ring.  If  you  look  at  it,  you  will  see 
that  it  has  nine  round  spots  down  its  side,  on  the 
rings  of  its  body.  It  looks  as  if  it  wore  a  coat  with 
big  buttons  on  the  side.. 

Now  let  me  tell  you  a  new  wonder.  These 
buttons  are  the  air-holes  through  which  this  larva 
breathes.  Come,  let  us  hear  the  whole  story  of  the 
insect's  breathing. 

You  know  you  draw  the  air  in  through  your  nose 
and  mouth,  and  this  air  fills  your  lungs.  You 
know  also  that  the  insect  breathes  through  long, 
fine  tubes.  They  are  kept  open  with  a  stiff  thread, 
and  wound  over  all  its  body. 

These  tubes  have  openings  for  air  to  pass  in  and 
out.  These  can  open  and  close.  In  shape  they 
are  a  little  like  the  lid  of  a  glass  jar.  These  are 
the  holes  that  we  see  so  clearly  along  the  side  of 
the  body  of  this  larva.  Both  the  larva  and  the 
pupa  must  breathe,  or  they  cannot  live. 

The  larva  of  a  stag  beetle  lives  and  grows  for 
four  or  six  years ;  then  it  passes  into  the  pupa  state. 
When  it  is  ready  to  change,  it  makes  a  case  for 
itself  of  the  fine  chips,  the  juice  of  which  it  has 
been  sucking.  It  binds  this  sort  of  coarse  sawdust 
together  with  glue  from  its  mouth. 

When   the  stag  beetle   finally  comes   from   this 


Mr.   Beetle  Seeks  for 'a  Home.       l-oi 

pupa-case,  he  is  a  fine-looking  fellow,  tiis  "head 
and  chest  are  black,  with  tiny  dots  like  carving. 
His  wing-cases  are  a  deep  chestnut. 

There  are  some  stag  beetles  that  never  get  the 
large,  strong  horns.  We  do  not  know  why  this  is 
so.  Mr.  Stag  Beetle  with  the  horns  fights  with 
and  beats  his  cousins  who  have  no  horns. 

Stag  beetles  are  fond  of  fighting.  They  are  like 
Mr.  Crab  in  that.  They  have  duels  with  each  other. 

Mrs.  Stag  Beetle  does  not  behave  in  this  way. 
She  looks  on  at  the  fight,  but  takes  no  part  in  it. 
Her  business  is  to  lay  eggs  in  safe  places.  She 
has  no  time  to  fight.  And  then  —  she  has  no 
horns ! 

LESSON    XXIX. 
MR.    BEETLE    SEEKS    FOR   A    HOME. 

I  SHALL  now  tell  you  of  a  very  odd  beetle.  If  ever 
you  find  one  of  this  family,  you  will  say,  "  This  poor 
beetle  has  outgrown  his  coat ! "  You  will  say  that 
when  you  see  how  very  short  his  wing-cases  are. 

But  no !  the  beetle  has  not  outgrown  his  coat. 
Insects  do  not  grow  after  they  leave  the  pupa-case. 
Mr.  Beetle  and  his  coat  are  both  of  the  same  size 
that  they  always  were. 

In  fact,  this  beetle's  coat  was  cut  short  for  him 


102 


'Seaside  and  Wayside. 


at  the  first.  It  is  the  fashion  in  his  family  to  wear 
short  clothes !  The  flying-wings  of  this  beetle  are 
large,  but  the  wing-covers  are  very  short.  They  do 

not  cover  half  the 
length  of  the  body. 
Yet  this  beetle  can 
fold  up  and  tuck  his 
flying-wings  under 
the  short  wing-cases. 
Most  of  the  short- 
coated  beetles  are 
small.  Some  of  them 
are  an  inch  long. 
They  are  very  lively 
insects.  They  are  very  greedy  little  creatures,  too. 

Some  of  these  beetles  eat  only  animal  food.  They 
are  always  busy  hunting  for  it.  Others  of  them 
are  fond  of  mushrooms.  Some  of  them  have  a  bad 
smell.  People  do  not  care  to  touch  them. 

Since  their  hard  shell  coat  is  so  short,  it  would 
be  easy  to  hurt  them.  No  doubt  they  have  this 
bad  smell  to  keep  away  creatures  that  would  eat 
them.  The  smell  keeps  them  from  harm. 

The  "  short-coats  "  do  not  all  have  a  bad  smell. 
Some  beetles  with  long  coats  have  this  foul  odor. 
There  are  also  beetles  that  smell  like  roses,  and  like 
musk. 


Mr.   Beetle  Seeks  for  a   Home.         103 


Some  of  the  short- 
coated  beetles  curl 
the  hind  part  of  their 
body  over.  The  end 
is  held  up  above  their 
backs.  If  they  had  a 
long,  hard  coat,  they 
could  not  do  that. 

You  have  read 
about  the  termites, 
or  white  ants.1  In 
Brazil  people  may 
find  one  kind  of  the 
short-coat  beetle  liv- 
ing in  the  nests  of 
the  termites. 

These  beetles  that 
live  with  the  termites 
are  very  strange  ani- 
mals. The  back  part 
of  their  body  is  too 
large  for  the  front 
part.  It  looks  like 
a  great  ball,  and  is 
turned  up  over  the  up- 
per part  of  the  back. 

1  See  Lesson  IX. 


He  seeks  a  Home. 


104  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

These  are  the  only  beetles  that  do  not  lay  eggs 
and  go  off  and  leave  them.  They  keep  their  eggs 
in  this  large,  round  part  of  the  body  until  they 
hatch.  Then  the  little  larvae  come  out  alive. 

Why  do  the  ants  allow  these  beetles  to  live  with 
them  ?  Perhaps  it  is  because  they  make  no  trouble 
and  so  the  termites  do  not  care  one  way  or  the 
other.  Perhaps,  like  the  little  Aphis,1  this  beetle 
has  a  way  of  making  honey;  if  so,  it  pays  for  its 
house-rent  with  honey ! 

There  are  other  short-coat  beetles  which  do  not 
have  these  big,  round  bodies.  They  lay  their  eggs 
like  other  beetles,  yet  they  live  in  ant-hills.  Per- 
haps these  beetles  and  their  larvae  like  to  feed  on 
the  husks  and  rubbish  they  may  find  in  the  ant-hill. 
The  ants  do  not  drive  them  out. 

The  short-coat  beetles  are  not  the  only  ones  that 
take  lodgings.  Perhaps  you  may  hear  your  mother 
say  that  "  the  moths  have  got  into  her  furs."  If 
she  looks  at  the  furs,  she  may  find,  not  only  moths, 
but  small  beetles.  They  are  having  a  fine  time  eat- 
ing up  the  fur ! 

Such  beetles  destroy  furs,  skins,  skin  rugs,  and 
stuffed  animals.  Their  greedy  larvae  can  make 
much  havoc.  These  larvae  are  like  tiny  black 
worms.  They  are  fond  of  ham,  bacon,  and  lard, 

1  See  Lesson  IX. 


The  Little  Water-men.  105 

One  very  large  short-coat  beetle  is  called  the 
"coach-horse."  The  larva  of  this  coach-horse  beetle 
looks  like  the  full-grown  insect.  It  carries  its  tail 
aloft,  in  the  same  way.  It  can  run  fast,  and  seeks 
its  food  all  day  long. 

These  larvae  often  hide  under  stones.  In  the 
winter  they  go  deeper  under  ground.  They  are 
fierce,  and  they  eat  animal  food. 

The  baby  lives  only  about  three  weeks  in  the 
pupa-case.  This  case  is  of  an  odd  shape,  like  a 
wedge,  with  a  rounded  top.  It  is  of  a  shining  gold 
color,  and  has  a  plume  or  crown  of  hairs  in  front. 


LESSON    XXX. 
THE   LITTLE    WATER-MEN. 

You  know  of  spiders  that  live  on  land.  You 
also  know  of  spiders  that  run  upon  the  water. 
There  are  also  land-beetles  and  water-beetles. 

The  water-spiders  have  rafts,  boats,  skates,  and 
diving-bells.  They  sit  and  float  on  lily  leaves. 
Their  homes  are  cool  and  bright  under  the  clear, 
still  waters. 

There  is  also  a  happy  race  of  beetles  that  have 
all  these  things.  The  story  of  these  beetles  is  like 
the  story  of  a  fairy  prince,  but  it  is  a  true  story. 


io6 


Seaside  and  Wayside. 


A  Happy  Race. 


All  living  things 
are  fitted  for  the 
places  where  they  are 
to  live.  The  animals 
that  live  in  cold  lands 
have  thick  fur.  Birds 
are  made  with  light 
bodies,1  so  that  they 
can  fly  easily.  The 
fish  have  scaly, 
pointed,  slippery  bod- 
ies, so  they  can  glide 
swiftly  through  the 
water. 

So  you  must  expect 
to  find  that  the  water- 
beetles  are  not  quite 
like  the  land-beetles. 
They  have  bodies 
made  fit  to  live  in 
their  water-home. 

If  you  place  a 
water-beetle  beside  a 
land-beetle,  you  will 
see  that  the  parts  of 
the  water-beetle  fit 

1  See  Third  Book. 


The  Little  Water-men.  107 

more  closely  than  the  land-beetle's.  They  join  each 
other  so  as  to  form  a  smooth,  water-tight  case. 
When  we  build  a  boat,  is  it  not  our  first  care  to 
make  it  tight,  so  that  it  will  not  leak? 

Next  you  will  see  that  the  water-beetle's  body  is 
longer,  narrower,  and  more  pointed  in  front  than 
the  land-beetle's.  It  is  made  so  as  to  part  the  water 
as  it  moves  along.  The  water-beetle's  shape  is  more 
fish-like  than  that  of  the  land-beetle.  When  we 
build  a  boat,  we  do  not  make  it  broad  or  square  at 
both  ends.  We  make  the  fore-part  narrow  and 
sharp,  to  cleave  the  water  as  the  fish  does. 

As  the  water-beetles  will  swim  much  and  walk 
very  little,  their  first  and  second  pairs  of  legs  are 
small  and  feeble,  but  the  hind  legs  are  wide  and 
strong,  and  reach  far  back.  They  are  used  for 
swimming. 

Mr.  Swimming  Crab  has  broad  hind  legs,  used 
for  oars  or  paddles.  Mr.  Water-Beetle's  legs  are 
made  in  much  the  same  way,  and  have  hairs  or 
bristles  upon  them. 

Though  the  water-beetles  are  to  walk  but  little, 
they  are  to  fly  much,  and  so  their  wings  are  fine 
and  large. 

In  fact,  the  water-beetle  likes  to  fly.  Very  often 
he  flies  at  night,  and  he  seems  to- delight  in  a  clear 
moonlight.  Then  the  water  of  his  pond  spreads 


io8  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

out  like  a  sheet  of  silver,  and  the  crickets  chirp  in 
the  grass.  The  air  is  moist  and  cool;  it  is  sweet 
with  the  scent  of  flowers. 

On  such  nights  the  water-beetles  rise  quite  high 
into  the  air,  and  fly  here  and  there,  as  if  full  of  joy. 
Then  they  turn,  close  their  wings,  and  drop  into 
the  water  with  a  plash,  like  a  stone. 

When  a  number  of  these  beetles  drop  with  this 
quick  plash,  what  do  you  think  happens?  Why, 
the  green  frogs  who  sit  on  logs  or  rocks,  with  their 
big  eyes  above  the  water,  dive  in  a  great  fright.  I 
wonder  if  the  beetles  think  it  is  fun  to  scare  the 
frogs  ?  The  frogs  give  a  loud  croak  as  they  dive. 

The  larvse  of  water-beetles  live  in  the  water,  as 
their  parents  do.  They  are  Very  greedy,  and  hunt 
their  food  as  if  they  were  angry.  They  have  large 
jaws,  shaped  like  a  sickle.  Their  bodies  are  long 
and  narrow,  and  they  have  on  each  side  of  the  head 
six  tiny  eyes. 

With  so  many  eyes,  they  can  see  all  about  them, 
so  they  keep  out  of  danger.  They  also  see  bugs 
which  they  wish  to  catch.  Their  straight,  narrow 
bodies  dart  through  the  water  with  such  quick 
motion  as  Mr.  Crab  has  when  he  runs  on  the  sand. 
They  pounce  on  their  prey,  and  their  curved  jaws 
hold  it  fast. 

Some  of  these  great  water-beetles  have  a  sharp 


The  Little  Water-men.  109 

point,  like  a  thorn,  on  the  under  side  of  the  breast 
This  is  not  of  use  to  kill  what  they  eat,  or  to  fight 
their  enemies.  The  beetle  seizes  his  prey  with  his 
jaws,  or  with  his  fore  feet.  But  if  you  try  to  hold 
him,  then  he  draws  his  body  back,  and  drives  this 
thorn  into  your  hand. 

Water-beetles  have  flat  pads  on  their  feet,  as 
water-spiders  do.  The  hairs  on  these  pads  hold 
tiny  bubbles  of  air. 

When  these  beetles  wish  to  fly,  they  do  not  rise 
straight  out  of  the  water ;  they  climb  up  the  stem  of 
some  plant.  Then,  when  they  are  high  enough  to 
make  a  good  start,  they  spread  their  lovely  wings, 
and  skim  away. 

If  you  watch  the  ponds,  you  may  see  a  water- 
beetle  floating  with  his  head  down,  and  the  tip  of 
his  tail  stuck  out  of  the  water.  What  does  he  mean 
by  that  queer  action  ? 

He  is  getting  air  to  breathe.  Though  he  lives 
under  the  water,  he  breathes  air,  and  he  is  filling  up 
his  diving-bell ;  or,  rather,  he  is  turning  himself  into 
a  diving-bell.  How  does  he  do  that  ?  Let  us  see. 

This  beetle's  wing-covers  are  air-tight.  The 
mouths  of  his  breathing-tubes  open  under  the  wing- 
covers.  When  he  has  used  all  the  fresh  air  he  had, 
he  wants  some  more.  So  he  comes  to  the  top  of  the 
water,  turns  his  head  down,  and  spreads  out  his  feet 


1 1  o  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

to  balance  himself.  Then,  with  a  little  jerk,  he 
drives  out  any  air  that  is  yet  under  his  wing-covers. 

Then  he  draws  in  fresh  air,  shuts  his  wing-covers 
up  close,  and  goes  down  with  plenty  of  fresh,  pure 
air  to  breathe. 

I  have  known  people  who  will  shut  themselves  up 
in  a  room  and  breathe  the  same  air  over  and  over 
again.1  The  beetle,  you  see,  is  more  sensible.  He 
knows  that  if  he  is  to  keep  his  health  and  spirits,  he 
must  have  good,  fresh,  clean  air  to  breathe.  So  he 
takes  all  this  trouble  to  get  pure  air. 

LESSON    XXXI. 
WHIRLIGIG    BEETLES. 

THERE  is  a  Mrs.  Water-Beetle  who  has  on  the 
under  side  of  her  body  two  little  knobs  for  spinning 
silk.  These  are  much  like  the  silk-spinners  of  Mrs. 
Spider. 

As  soon  as  this  Mrs.  Beetle  has  laid  some  eggs, 
she  goes  to  work,  like  a  good  mother,  to  keep  her 
babies  safe  and  warm.  She  spins  a  little  silk  ball, 
or  bag,  for  the  eggs.  This  ball  is  water-tight.  It  is 
woven  so  close  that  it  does  not  leak.  It  is  so  light 
that  it  will  float. 

There  are  other  beetles,  and  fish,  and  frogs  in  the 

1  Let  the  teacher  explain  the  evils  of  vitiated  air. 


Whirligig   Beetles.  1 1  r 

water,  that  are  seeking  food,  and  they  might  eat 
these  eggs,  but  will  not  touch  them  when  in  this 
tough  silk  ball.  The  balls  are  of  a  fine  bright  color, 
like  gold  thread. 

Another  of  the  water-beetles  makes  a  little  silk 
bag,  packs  it  full  of  eggs,  and  glues  it  to  the  under 
side  of  a  leaf  of  some  water-plant. 

You  know  that  a  fly  has  a  little  pair  of  wings, 
called  alulets,  below  its  true  wings.  One  of  the 
beetles  has  such  clubs  or  alulets.  So  you  see  in  one 
part  they  are  somewhat  like  a  spider,  in  another 
part  somewhat  like  a  fly.  And  some  things  about 
them  are  like  what  a  crab  has. 

Among  all  animals  you  will  find  points  of  likeness 
between  one  creature  and  another. 

Did  you  ever  see  a  whirligig  beetle  ?  He  takes 
his  name  from  the  top,  or  whirligig,  because  he  spins 
round,  and  round,  and  round.  Go  to  the  pond,  and 
you  will  see  some  of  these  merry  fellows.  They 
act  as  if  they  felt  so  happy  that  they  could  not 
keep  still. 

These  whirligigs  are  of  a  fine  bronze  color. 
They  use  their  hind  legs  for  oars,  and  their  fore 
legs  for  rudders.  They  have  their  eyes  divided,  so 
that  each  one  seems  to  have  a  pair  of  eyes  on  each 
side  of  its  head ;  one  half  the  eye  looks  up,  and  one 
looks  down, 


112  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

These  are  small  beetles,  and  they  whirl,  whirl, 
whirl.  Then  they  stand  still  for  a  second.  If  you 
make  a  dart  at  them,  and  try  to  catch  them,  you 
will  find  that  it  is  not  easy  to  do  so. 

These  whirlers  lay. their  eggs  on  leaves  above 
water.  The  larvae  spin  silk  pupa-cases  which  hang 
on  leaves,  or  on  stems,  above  the  top  of  the  water. 

These  and  other  water-beetles  live  in  ponds  or 
very  quiet  streams,  not  in  swift  water. 

I  hope  the  peep  you  have  had  at  beetle-life  will 
make  you  wish  to  study  it  more.  Study  not  so 
much  in  books,  as  out-of-doors  for  yourself. 

Of  what  use  are  beetles  ?  Wise  people  have  not 
yet  found  out  very  much  about  the  use  of  beetles. 
Some  of  them,  as  you  have  read,  devour  or  bury 
spoiled  things,  that  it  would  be  bad  to  have  lying 
about  on  the  ground.  They  help  to  keep  the  world 
clean. 

Some  of  them  eat  insects  that  harm  plants. 
Some  of  them  make  good  food  for  fish,  birds,  and 
other  creatures.  But  very  many  of  the  beetles  do 
much  harm  to  plants,  clothes,  and  other  valuable 
things.  On  the  whole,  I  fear  that  beetles  are  pretty 
rather  than  useful ! 


What  a  Fisherman  Told.  113 

LESSON    XXXII. 
WHAT   A    FISHERMAN   TOLD. 

ONE  day,  on  the  sea-beach,  I  saw  a  man  mending 
a  net.  He  took  from  the  net  two  small  things  like 
shells.  They  clung  to  the  meshes  of  the  net.  They 
were  white  and  hard.  They  looked  like  two  or 
three  shells  put  one  inside  the  other. 

The  fisherman  said,  "  There  are  in  the  world 
more  of  these  things  than  there  are  leaves  on  the 
trees,  I  think." 

"  Where  do  they  grow,  Mr.  Fisherman  ?  " 

"  It  is  easier,"  said  the  fisherman,  "  to  say  where 
they  do  not  grow,  unless  I  just  say,  they  grow 
wherever  there  is  sea-water.  The  pier  yonder, 
below  high-water  mark,  is  covered  with  hundreds 
of  them.  All  the  rocks  that  we  see  bare  at  low 
tide  are  white  with  them.  Every  log  or  stick  that 
drifts  on  the  sea  has  them  on  it.  All  the  old  shells 
on  the  beach,  and  many  new  shells,  have  dozens 
fastened  on  them. 

"  I  have  seen  an  old  King  Crab  crawl  up  the 
beach,"  the  fisherman  said.  "  He  had  his  shell  so 
coated  with  these  things,  that  it  seemed  as  if  he  had 
two  shells,  one  on  top  of  the  other.  It  was  so  heavy 
that  he  could  hardly  walk. 


1 1 4  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

"  I  have  also  seen  them  growing  in  the  skins  of 
whales,  and  sharks,  and  other  fish.  I  have  sailed 
all  around  the  world,  and  I  have  found  these  things 
everywhere." 

"What  do  you  call  them,  Mr.  Fisherman  ?  " 

"  Some  call  them  Sea-Acorns,  some  Sea-Rose- 
Buds.  These  are  pretty  names;  but  Barnacle  is 
the  right  name." 

"  Do  you  know,  Mr.  Fisherman,  that  they  are 
cousins  of  the  crabs  ?  " 

"  I'll  never  believe  that"  said  the  fisherman. 
"  They  do  not  look  like  crabs.  When  I  was  a  boy, 
folks  told  me  that  out  of  these  shells  came  a  little 
bird  that  grew  into  a  goose.  I  saw  a  picture  once, 
of  a  tree  all  covered  with  big  barnacles,  and  out  of 
each  one  hung  a  little  bird's  head.  Is  that  tale 
true  ?  They  were  not  quite  like  these  barnacles." 

"  No,  Mr.  Fisherman,  it  is  not  at  all  true.  No 
birds  grow  from  barnacles.  That  is  an  old-time 
fable." 

"  Well,"  said  the  fisherman,  "  once  in  the  water  I 
saw  something  hanging  out  of  the  shell  of  a  fellow 
like  this.  It  opened  and  shut,  and  looked  a  little 
like  a  bird's  foot." 

"  It  was  a  foot,  Mr.  Fisherman,  but  not  a  bird's 
foot.  It  was  Mr.  Barnacle's  own  foot,  and  as  he  has 
no-  hands,  he  uses  his  feet  to  catch  his  dinner/' 


What  a   Fisherman  Told.  1 1 5 

"  I  know,"  said  the  fisherman,  "  that  horse-hairs 
in  ponds  will  turn  into  long  worms.  But  I  never 
did  think  these  shells  would  turn  into  birds." 

"  And  horse-hairs  will  never  turn  into  worms. 
Long,  thin,  black  worms  in  ponds  look  much  like 
the  hairs  of  a  horse's  tail,  so  some  people  think  they 
must  once  have  been  horse-tail  hairs.  But  it  is  not 
so.  Horse-hairs  are  always  only  horse-hairs,  and 
worms  all  come  from  eggs  which  were  laid  to  bring 
out  a  worm." 

"  It  is  a  pity,"  said  the  fisherman,  "  that  when  I 
was  a  boy  in  school  my  books  did  not  tell  me  of 
these  things.  It  would  have  been  nice  to  know 
what  I  was  looking  at  as  I  went  about  the  world." 

Now  let  us  study  these  barnacles  of  which  our 
fisherman  spoke.  He  told  us  truly  about  their 
number  and  where  they  grow.  He  told  us  what 
he  knew  because  it  was  what  he  had  seen. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  barnacles,  —  those  that 
have  stems,  and  those  that  have  no  stems.  The 
kind  that  has  no  stems  is  the  kind  you  will  see 
oftener,  though  there  are  plenty  of  the  other  kind. 

The  stemless,  or  acorn  barnacles,  are  placed  flat 
upon  whatever  they  grow  on.  Try  to  pull  one  off 
a  stone.  You  cannot  do  it  while  the  animal  is 
alive.  When  the  animal  is  dead  or  dying,  you  can 
move  the  shell  from  what  it  grows  upon.  After  the 


1 1 6  Seaside  and   Wayside. 

animal  has  been  dead  some  time,  the  shells  drop 
from  their  places,  and  leave  room  for  others  to  grow. 

All  barnacles  do  not  fix  themselves  upon  dead 
bodies,  such  as  stones,  wood,  or  shells.  Many  of 
them  fasten  upon  living  animals,  and  are  carried 
about  with  them  fro*m  place  to  place.  Perhaps 
they  enjoy  travel ! 

In  the  North  Sea  many  sharks  have  barnacles 
growing  upon  them.  The  stem  of  the  barnacle  has 
little  hollow  hairs,  and  these  enter  into  the  flesh  of 
the  shark  and  hold  fast  there.  Others  have  been 
found  keeping  house  upon  the  whale's  skin,  and  yet 
others  on  the  shells  of  turtles. 

These  barnacles  which  you  find  by  the  shore  are 
small  things,  you  can  hold  several  of  them  in  your 
hand  at  once.  Far  down  in  the  ocean  lives  a 
huge  giant  barnacle,  so  big  that  some  of  you  could 
hardly  lift  him. 

LESSON    XXXIII. 
MR.    BARNACLE   AND    HIS   SON. 

THE  Barnacle  has  a  name  which  means  hair  or 
ringlet-footed.  People  thought  his  little  fine  curled- 
up  feet  looked  like  small  curls  of  hair.  His  body 
is  like  a  small  bag  or  sac,  with  the  six  pairs  of  little 


Mr.   Barnacle  and  his  Son.  117 

curly  feet  placed  at  one  end.  The  body  is  made  of 
rings  as  are  the  bodies  of  insects.  All  the  six  pairs 
of  legs  are  on  the  chest  rings.  Each  leg  has  two 
joints,  and  a  little  branch  like  a  fine  fringe.  The 
hard  shelly  cover  of  the  barnacle  is  made  of  plates 
lapped  together.  When  they  are  closed  they  look 
something  like  buds  on  trees,  or  young  pine  cones. 
When  the  fringes  of  the  feet  wave  out  between  the 
edges  of  the  shell-plates,  it  looks  as  if  the  buds  were 
about  to  open  into  flower. 

A  barnacle  is  more  like  his  far-off  cousin  Mr. 
Crab  when  he  is  little  than  when  he  is  grown  up. 
Every  grown-up  barnacle  must  be  firmly  fastened 
upon  some  other  body.  The  barnacles  are  divided 
into  two  classes,  according  to  the  way  in  which 
they  are  fastened  upon  objects:  i.  Stem  Barnacles, 
2.  Stemless  Barnacles. 

A  stem  barnacle  has  plates  which  form  a  three- 
cornered  shell.  It  grows  fast  to  some  object  by  a 
small  stem  which  is  soft,  and  can  bend  about  easily. 

A  stemless  barnacle  has  a  shell  shaped  like  an 
acorn,  or  like  a  rosebud  with  the  top  bitten  off. 
Instead  of  a  stem,  it  is  held  fast  to  the  object  on 
which  it  grows  by  a  thin  plate  of  shell  at  its  broad, 
or  flat  end.  This  plate  has  a  tiny  hole  in  the  centre. 

When  you  first  saw  a  barnacle,  you  would  not 
think  it  was  any  relative  of  Mr.  Crab.  When 


u8 


Seaside  and   Wayside, 


grown  up  it  does  not  look  at  all  like  the  Crab 
Family.  When  crabs  and  barnacles  are  very 
young,  they  look  more  like  each  other. 

Let  us  look  at  an  acorn  barnacle.     The  shell  is 
in  plates,  as  if  two  or  three  shells  were  set  one  over 


Old  and  Young  Barnacles. 

another.  The  shell  grows  by  added  bits  of  lime, 
as  a  conch  shell  does.  The  thin  skin  that  lines  it, 
and  holds  it  together,  is  shed,  like  Mr.  Crab's  coat. 
Then  the  shell  has  room  to  grow. 

The  shell  is  hard  and  white.     It  is  lined  with 


Mr.   Barnacle  and  his  Son.  119 

a  very  thin  skin,  which  often  has  a  faint,  pretty 
tint 

The  stem  barnacles  have  long,  flesh-like  stems 
which  move  and  sway  with  the  motion  of  the  water. 
They  look  much  like  a  little,  queer,  pale  plum  hung 
by  a  thick  stem. 

The  end  of  the  barnacle,  which  clings  to  the 
stone,  log,  shell,  or  fish  on  which  it  has  fastened 
itself,  is  the  head  end.  The  two  feelers,  which  all 
these  animals  have,  are  turned  into  two  fine  tubes, 
or  pipes.  These  feelers  have  little  glands  or  sacs 
which  make  a  strong  cement.  Cement  is  like  glue, 
but  much  more  strong  and  stiff. 

This  cement  fastens  Mr.  Barnacle  to  his  place. 
So  after  he  has  settled  himself  in  life,  he  never 
wanders  about  any  more. 

Did  Mr.  Barnacle  ever  go  abroad  ?  Oh,  yes ! 
When  he  was  young  he  swam  about  the  water- 
world,  in  a  very  brisk  way.  Let  us  hear  about  that. 

Mr.  Barnacle  makes  the  same  changes  of  life  that 
an  insect  does.  First  he  is  an  egg,  then  a  larva, 
then  a  pupa,  and  at  last  a  steady  old  barnacle.  But 
the  larva  barnacle  makes  two  or  three  changes  of 
shape  before  it  turns  into  a  pupa. 

Barnacles  grow  fast.  They  change  their  coats 
often  when  they  are  young. 

Here  is  an  old  acorn  barnacle  fast  upon  a  stone. 


I2O 


Seaside  and  Wayside. 


It  is  about  as  big  as  the  end  of  your  little  finger. 
It  has  some  eggs  which  it  packs  into  the  shape  of 
a  small  leaf.  It  tucks  this  leaf  of  eggs  into  a  fold 
of  the  thin  skin  that  lines  the  thick  shell. 

As  the  eggs  get  ready  to  hatch  into  larvae,  the 

old  barnacle  is  also 
growing,  and  making 
more  shell.  Soon  it 
is  ready  to  enlarge 
the  outer  shell.  So 
the  inside  skin  cracks 
apart  and  falls  off. 
By  degrees  some  bar- 
nacles become  quite 
large  as  fresh  shell 
grows  from  within. 

When  the  old  in- 
side skin  falls  off,  the 
eggs  are  set  free.  Out  of  them  come  the  larvae. 
The  larvae  are  active,  hungry  little  fellows,  who 
know  how  to  swim  as  soon  as  they  are  loose  in  the 
water. 

The  larva  acts  as  if  it  liked  to  be  free  from  the 
shell  prison.  It  darts  about  in  the  sea,  and  each 
day  its  shape  changes.  It  has  one  eye,  a  mouth, 
two  feelers  like  horns,  and  six  legs.  It  can  swim, 
and  can  walk  over  sea-weed. 


Mr.  Barnacle  and  his  Son.  121 

Some  parts  of  this  gay  little  larva  will  one  day 
turn  into  tubes  to  make  cement  to  hold  it  fast  to  a 
stone.  Then  it  will  be  a  stay-at-home  barnacle  all 
the  rest  of  its  life  long. 

When  the  larva  becomes  a  pupa,  it  drifts  about 
until  at  last  it  is  time  for  it  to  stop  travelling  and 
keep  still.  Then  it  fixes  itself  by  its  head  to  the 
place  that  will  always  be  its  home.  All  it  has  to 
do  after  that,  is  to  fish  and  eat.  As  it  makes  new 
shell,  it  will  enlarge  the  old  shell.  And  it  will 
have  little  eggs,  packed  in  the  shape  of  a  wee  leaf 
between  the  skin  and  outer  shell. 

By  and  by  Mr.  Barnacle  has  a  hard  shell  of  many 
plates,  his  eye  has  gone  down  near  his  stomach. 
Do  you  think  he  can  see  what  he  eats?  His  legs 
are  not  used  for  walking,  but  to  fish  with ;  his 
mouth  is  near  his  feet.  The  rest  of  his  head  has 
gone  off  with  his  feelers,  to  attend  to  making  cement 
and  shell.  What  a  queer  creature  he  is ! 


LESSON    XXXIV. 
A   FISHING   PARTY. 

DID  you  ever  go  fishing?  Did  you  fish  with  a 
rod  and  line  ?  Or,  did  you  sit  on  a  pier  and  let 
your  line  drop  into  the  water  from  your  hand?  Or, 


122  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

did  you  go  out  with  the  boats  and  see  the  men 
throw  a  net  into  the  water? 

There  are  many  ways  of  fishing,  and  now  I  shall 
tell  you  of  some  queer  little  fishers  and  their  ways. 
Why  did  you  want  to  catch  fish  ?  Oh,  just  for  fun ! 

My  little  fishers  fisli  for  food,  and  they  eat  their 
fish  without  any  cooking.  Their  fish  are  so  small 
that  you  cannot  see  them  without  the  help  of  a 
glass  that  magnifies. 

I  saw  a  fishing  party  to-day.  There  were  twenty 
fishers  in  it.  They  were  all  dressed  in  white  coats. 
They  all  sat  on  one  stone. 

"  What  a  big  stone  !  "  you  cry.  You  had  better 
say,  "  Oh,  what  little  fishers  !  "  For,  to  tell  you  the 
truth,  I  covered  the  whole  party  up  with  one  of  my 
hands ! 

Was  this  a  fairy  fishing  party?  No;  it  was  a  bar- 
nacle fishing  party.  I  will  tell  you  about  it. 

The  sun  shone  on  the  water,  the  sea  was  still, 
and  the  tide  was  slowly  going  out.  It  was  half- 
low  tide.  A  gray  rock  lay  in  the  water.  The  water 
was  yet  about  two  or  three  inches  above  the  top  of 
the  rock. 

On  this  rock  were  about  twenty  stemless  bar- 
nacles, clean,  white,  and  acorn-shaped.  They  were 
of  the  size  of  small  acorns.  You  must  know  that 
barnacles  grow.  They  are  of  many  sizes.  Some 


A  Fishing   Party. 


123 


are  the  size  of  a  small 
glove-button.  Others 
are  of  the  size  of  a  small 
acorn,  or  of  the  end  of 
your  little  finger. 

As  I  looked  at  these 
twenty  little  fishers,  the 
plates  of  the  shells  were 
opened  a  little.  Out 
of  the  top  of  each  shell 
came  a  fine  little  plume, 
like  five  or  six  tiny 
feathers. 

This  plume  waved  up 
and  down  in  the  water. 
It  seemed  to  open  and 
shut  gently,  as  you 
would  open  and  shut 
your  hand. 

Every  now  and  then 
this  little  plume  was 
drawn  quite  back  into 
the  shell.  In  a  minute 
out  it  came  again  and 
waved  as  before.  What 
did  all  this  mean  ? 

It  meant  that  the  bar- 


A  Fishing  Party. 


124  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

nacles  were  having  a  fishing  party.  They  were 
catching  their  dinner  while  the  tide  was  over  their 
shells.  Mr.  Crab  gets  his  dinner  at  low  tide,  and 
hides  at  high  tide.  Mr.  Barnacle  fishes  and  eats  at 
high  tide.  At  low  tide  he  shuts  his  shell  house  and 
clings  to  his  place.  *He  is  waiting  for  the  tide  to 
come  up  and  cover  him  once  more. 

When  Mr.  Barnacle  opened  and  shut  this  fine 
plume,  it  was  his  net,  or  his  set  of  lines  with  which 
to  fish  little  live  creatures  from  the  water.  He 
tangles  his  prey  (or  food)  up  in  his  fine  plumes. 

Among  the  things  he  catches  are  tiny  crabs,  too 
small  for  the  naked  eye  to  see. 

When  the  plume  net  is  full,  he  draws  it  into  his 
shell.  Then  he  empties  it  into  his  mouth.  After 
this  he  puts  his  plume  out  of  his  house  once  more, 
to  fish  for  other  things.  In  the  meantime,  he 
feeds  on  what  he  has  taken.  He  has  no  pantry  in 
which  to  store  things,  as  Mr.  Crab  has. 

Near  this  fishing  party  on  the  stone,  drifted  a 
log.  On  the  under  side  of  the  log  were  some  stem 
barnacles.  They  were  fishing  too.  They  fished  in 
the  same  way,  and  for  the  same  kind  of  things. 

They  opened  their  shells,  pushed  out  a  lovely 
plume,  and  this  pretty  thing  caught  food  in  its 
meshes. 

Does   their  net   never   break   and    need    to   be 


A  Last  Look  at  Mr.  Barnacle.        125 

mended  as  the  fisherman's  net  does  ?  No  doubt,  if 
it  does,  a  new  piece  will  soon  grow.  What  is  his 
net  ?  It  is  Mr.  Barnacle's  feet.  If  any  of  them  are 
lost  or  hurt  others  will  come,  just  as  Mrs.  Crab  gets 
new  legs  when  some  are  gone.  Notice  these  tiny 
legs.  They  look  very  like  a  cluster  of  long  fingers 
or  toes.  He  uses  them  to  fish  with.  For  what  else 
should  he  use  them  ?  He  never  walks  nor  swims. 


LESSON    XXXV. 
A   LAST   LOOK   AT    MR.    BARNACLE. 

IT  is  well  to  know  all  you  can  about  barnacles, 
for  you  will  see  them  wherever  you  go  by  the  sea- 
side. 

If  you  study  them,  you  will  not,  like  the  fisher- 
man, believe  foolish  things  about  them,  and  refuse 
to  believe  true  things. 

Will  it  not  be  pleasant  to  think  of  what  you 
know  of  their  story?  When  you  see  an  acorn 
barnacle  fast  to  a  stone,  you  can  think  of  the  days 
when  he  was  young  and  went  sailing  about.  I 
wonder  if  he  calls  those  days  "  the  good  old  times !  " 

When  you  see  a  stem  barnacle  swinging  in  the 
water,  you  can  think  of  what  a  good  time  he  is 
having,  fishing  with  his  pretty  feet. 


126  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

The  stemless  barnacles  also  have,  from  their 
shape,  a  name  which  means  acorn.  You  will  find 
the  Latin  names  easy  when  you  are  older  and  study 
more. 

The  acorn  shells  can  live  out  of  water  for  a  few 
hours  at  a  time.  When  the  tide  is  low,  many  of 
them  are  left  high  and  dry.  But  if  they  should  be 
out  of  water  too  long,  they  would  die  for  want  of 
food  and  water.  Perhaps,  also,  the  dry  heat  of  the 
air  kills  them. 

If  you  wish  to  study  them  for  yourselves,  take 
home  a  stone,  shell,  or  stick,  with  some  of  them  on 
it.  Put  it  in  a  bowl  of  sea-water.  Soon  they  will 
open  their  shells  and  begin  fishing. 

Those  barnacles  which  grow  fast  to  living  fish, 
sharks,  or  whales,  bury  their  heads  and  tubes  in  the 
skins  of  these  animals.  I  wonder  if  the  whales  and 
sharks  feel  them  and  do  not  like  them. 

The  barnacles  that  make  the  most  trouble  are 
those  which  fasten  upon  the  outside  of  ships.  The 
bottoms  of  ships  are  often  covered  with  barnacles. 
They  make  the  hull  of  the  ship  rough  and  heavy. 
That  hinders  its  motion  through  the  water. 

In  such  a  case  the  ship  must  be  put  into  a  dry 
dock.  There  it  is  scraped  clean.  Because  of  this 
trouble  and  waiting,  sailors  dislike  barnacles.  They 
often  say  that  they  wish  there  were  none. 


A   Last   Look  at   Mr.   Barnacle.         127 

In  some  parts  of  the  world  there  is  a  large  kind 
of  barnacles.  People  eat  these  as  we  eat  oysters  or 
mussels. 

You  need  not  expect  to  see  the  young  barnacles 
swimming  about  in  the  water.  They  are  very  tiny 
creatures,  of  the  shape  of  an  apple-seed.  If  you 
should  see  them,  I  think  you  would  never  guess 
what  they  are. 

For  a  great  while  people  thought  barnacles  were 
not  worth  much  study.  They  called  them  "  shell 
fish,"  and  did  not  dream  what  wonders  were  hidden 
in  their  shell-plate  cases.  At  last,  when  wise  men 
knocked  at  Mr.  Barnacle's  house  door,  and  said, 
"  Come  out  and  tell  me  your  secrets,"  they  found 
he  was  a  most  interesting  little  creature. 


LESSON    XXXVI. 
FLOWERS    OF   THE   SEA. 

THERE  are  flowers  in  the  sea  as  well  as  on  the 
land.  Under  the  waves  of  the  ocean  are  fields  of 
green  sea-grasses  and  groves  of  great  sea-weeds  like 
trees.  -  Diving-men  go  down  to  the  sea-bottom  and 
walk  about.  They  often  find  it  hard  to  move  in 
the  tall  weeds.  The  weeds  tangle  the  men's  feet. 
The  divers  feel  as  you  would  among  the  brush  and 


128 


Seaside  and  Wayside. 


An  Ocean  Garden. 


vines  of  a  great  wood.  There 
are  splendid  sea-plants  of 
all  colors, —  red,  pink,  white, 
green,  brown,  purple,  yellow, 
and  orange. 

The  leaves  of  these  sea- 
plants  are  of  many  shapes. 
They  are  round  or  long ; 
they  are  flat  or  curly.  Some 
are  cut  into  fine  fingers ; 
many  are  like  fringes ;  they 
have  spots,  dots,  or  knobs 
upon  them  that  shine  like 
silver  and  gold. 

The  sea  has  also  another 
kind  of  flowers.  These  are 
animals  or  fishes  that  look 
more  like  lovely  flowers  than 
like  any  other  thing.  We 
call  them  sea-flowers  or  ani- 
mal-flowers. We  name  some 
of  them  after  dainty  little 
plants  that  grow  in  the  woods 
in  spring. 

The  name  "flowers"  which 
we  give  to  these  is  only  a 
pretty  fancy.  You  must  know 


Flowers  of  the   Sea.  129 

that  really  they  are  a  kind  of  animal.  It  is,  then, 
flower-animals  that  we  shall  now  study  for  a  few 
lessons. 

You  have  read  of  animals  made  upon  a  ring  pat- 
tern ;  these  flower-animals  are  made  upon  a  star 
pattern. 

The  pattern  on  which  they  are  made  is  very  sim- 
ple  (see  cut),  and   yet   it   is   so  built 
upon  and  changed  that  the  members  \        / 

of  this    Family  are  among  the  most 
lovely  of  animals. 

These    animal-plants     have,    from 
their   odd    and    pretty   shapes,    such 
names    as  the    sunflower,  the    aster,    the  fern,   the 
crown,  the  fan,  the  pen,  and  so  on.     I  will  now  tell 
you  about  one  of  them. 

Early  one  day  I  went  from  my  door  to  the  beach, 
which  was  near,  and  there  I  saw  a  lovely  object. 

The  water  was  very  still  and  clear,  and  floating 
in  it  was  something  all  rose  and  cream  color. 

This  pretty  thing  was  as  large  as  a  very  large 
dinner-plate.  It  was  not  flat,  but  shaped  like  half 
an  orange,  with  the  rounded  side  up.  It  was  of  a 
fine  rose  color,  and  as  clear  as  jelly.  It  looked 
much  like  pink  jelly. 

From  the  centre  of  the  top  to  the  edge  went  lines 
of  a  deeper  pink.  There  were  also  dots  around  the 


130  Seaside  and   Wayside. 

outer  edge.  This  edge  seemed  to  have  a  soft  full 
ruffle  of  cream  color  about  it.  Looking  closer,  I 
saw  that  the  under  side  was  not  flat.  It  was  shaped 
like  a  bell  or  an  open  parasol.  It  had  something 
which  looked  like  long  leaves,  and  which  opened 
and  shut. 

But  this  was  not  all  that  I  saw.  From  the  darker 
lines  on  the  upper  part  of  the  bell  ran  out  long  pink 
arms.  These  were  almost  a  yard  long.  Their 


Fig.  1.  Fig.  2.  Fig.  3. 

edges  had  full  ruffles.  They  were  of  a  cream  color, 
like  soft  lace. 

These  long  arms  hung  down  in  the  water,  which 
spread  out  their  pretty  edges.  With  a  soft  and 
gentle  motion  they  waved  from  side  to  side. 

In  my  boat  I  went  quietly  near  this  creature.  It 
floated  here  and  there,  spread  out  in  all  its  beauty. 
I  kept  near  it  to  watch  it.  This  lovely  thing  was  a 
jelly-fish. 

It  was  easy  to  see  that  the  creature  was  of  a  star 
pattern,  but  it  had  four,  and  not  five  rays.  Its  plan 


The  Life  of  a  Jelly-fish.  i  3 1 

was  like  Figure  i.  If  these  rays  are  bent  down, 
you  will  see  that  they  may  form  the  frame  of  a  bell- 
shape,  like  Figure  2.  The  ends  of  these  four  rays 
often  run  out  into  arms,  like  Figure  3.  All  the 
soft  pink-and-cream  jelly-like  stuff  fills  up  between 
the  upper  part  of  the  rays  and  gathers  into  the 
rufHes  along  the  edge. 

This  is  the  plan  on  which  the  jelly-fish  is  built. 
His  frame  is  built  of  four  rays.  The  four  parts 
between  the  rays  may  be  again  divided  and  be 
eight  and  not  four.  Again,  there  may  be  sixteen 
rays  instead  of  eight.  But  the  plan  is  the  same. 


LESSON    XXXVII. 
THE    LIFE    OF   A   JELLY-FISH. 

IT  is  from  the  clear  stuff  between  the  rays,  the 
stuff  which  forms  the  bell  or  disk  part,  that  the 
jelly-fish  has  its  common  name. 

It  has  also  another  name,  which  means  nettle, 
from  the  plant  called  a  nettle.  The  leaves  of  this 
plant  can  prick  and  sting  your  skin,  and  make  it 
burn.  The  fine,  long  arms  of  the  jelly-fish  can 
sting  in  the  same  way. 

The  jelly-fish  is  nearly  all  water.  It  is  made  of 
flesh  as  fluid  as  the  white  of  an  egg.  If  taken  from 


132  Seaside   and   Wayside. 

the  water,  jelly-fish  die  in  a  very  short  time.  They 
die  by  drying  up.  A  very  large  jelly-fish  will  dry 
to  a  thin,  small  skin. 

I  do  not  know  of  any  other  living  creature  so  soft, 
or  so  nearly  all  water,  as  a  jelly-fish.  And  yet  these 
are  true  animals,  TTiey  can  hear,  see,  feel,  and,  no 
doubt,  can  also  taste  as  other  animals  do. 

All  along  the  edge  of  the  bell  part  you  can  see 
some  dark  dots,  which  are  the  eyes.  Some  of  the 
jelly-fish  have  these  little  eyes  bare;  that  is,  they 
have  no  lid  or  cover  over  them.  These  are  called 
bare-eyed  jelly-fish.  Others  have  a  little  hood  like 
a  lid  over  each  eye.  Also  along  the  bell  part  are 
little  sacs  which  take  the  place  of  ears.  The  long 
arms  which  droop  from  the  edge  of  the  bell  are  the 
feelers.  These  are  used  to  touch  things  with.  They 
wave  gently  to  and  fro  and  help  the  fish  to  move 
through  the  water. 

Up  in  the  centre  of  the  under  side  of  the  bell  is 
the  mouth.  It  has  over  it  a  little  fine  frill.  Even 
a  jelly-fish,  you  see,  does  not  wish  to  keep  its  mouth 
wide  open  all  the  time ! 

Below  the  mouth,  the  jelly-fish  has  fishing-lines 
or  nets,  as  the  barnacle  has.  The  soft,  pretty  ruffles 
move  up  and  down  in  the  water,  and  catch  things 
to  put  into  the  mouth  of  the  jelly-fish. 

It  would  surprise  you  to  know  what   large   and 


The  Life  of  a  Jelly-fish. 


hard  things  these  soft 
jelly-fish  can  soften 
and  use  as  food.  Fish, 
crabs,  shell-fish,  are 
caught  and  eaten  by 
jelly-fish. 

There  is  something 
in  the  jelly-fish  which 
can  dissolve  these 
hard  things.  He  often 
casts  out  from  his 
mouth-sac  the  harder 
and  larger  shells  and 
bones.  He  does  this 
as  you  would  put 
from  your  mouth  nut- 
shells or  plum-stones. 

How  do  the  jelly- 
fish move  in  the 
water  ?  ,  They  have 
no  swimming-feet  as 
Mr.  Crab  has.  They 
have  no  fins,  as  the 
fish  has.  Some  of 
them  move  by  spread- 
ing out  the  bell,  or 
round  part,  of  their 


The  Jelly-fish. 


134  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

bodies,  and  then  drawing  it  up  again.  This 
motion,  which  is  like  the  rise  and  fall  of  your 
chest  when  you  breathe,  drives  them  through 
the  water. 

Other  jelly-fish  have  a  motion  more  like  the  open- 
ing and  closing  of  the1  hands.  Some  have  little  oars, 
paddles,  or  hairs  on  the  edge  of  the  disk.  Some 
seem  to  open  and  close  as  you  would  slowly  open 
and  shut  an  umbrella. 

The  swimming-bell  of  the  jelly-fish  is  often  called 
the  umbrella  from  its  shape.  This  bell  has  little 
fine  muscles  through  it,  by  which  it  can  spread 
out  and  draw  together.  You  know  you  have  mus- 
cles by  which  you  can  move  the  parts  of  your 
body. 

On  the  under  side  of  the  swimming-bell,  is  a  flap 
called  the  veil.  This  flap  turns  inward,  and  the 
little  fine  muscles  spread  over  it.  This  veil  is 
pulled  together  in  the  act  of  swimming,  and  pushes 
out  the  water  from  the  bell.  Then  the  bell  spreads 
and  takes  in  more  water,  and  again  it  is  driven  out. 
A  boy  in  swimming  parts  and  pushes  the  water 
back  with  his  arms,  the  jelly-fish  has  no  arms  or 
legs,  but  still  it  moves  about  easily. 

I  told  you  that  jelly-fish  could  sting.  They  can 
also  shine.  They  can  make  a  fine  bright  light, 
something  as  glow-worms  or  fire-flies  do,  but  more 


The   Life  of  a  Jelly-fish.  135 

steady.  From  this  power,  they  have  been  called 
Lamps  of  the  Sea.  I  have  seen  the  ocean  bright 
with  them  for  miles.  It  looked  as  if  all  the  stars 
had  fallen  from  the  sky,  and  were  glowing  in  the 
water. 

When  the  jelly-fish  shine  so,  the  light  is  like  a 
ball.  It  is  not  in  straight  lines,  long,  or  square.  It 
is  round,  like  fire-balls,  or  balls  of  melted  iron,  or  of 
glass.  These  balls  are  sometimes  red,  or  blue,  or 
white,  or  green,  or  yellow. 

Jelly-fish  differ  much  in  size.  Some  are  so  small 
that  you  can  hardly  see  them ;  some  are  as  large  as 
a  split  pea.  Then  some  are  the  size  of  a  dime,  of  a 
dollar,  of  a  plate,  and  so  on,  up  to  the  size  of  a  huge 
wheel. 

As  they  are  of  many  sizes,  so  they  are  of  many 
shapes,  as  I  told  you  at  first.  They  are  like 
balls,  fans,  bells,  bottles,  plumes,  baskets,  cups, 
flowers. 

And  now,  here  is  another  odd  thing  to  tell  you. 
You  know  that  when  Mr.  Barnacle  is  young  he 
swims  about.  When  he  is  grown  up,  he  settles 
down  to  stay  in  one  place.  The  jelly-fish  stays  in 
one  place,  and  grows  fast,  when  he  is  young,  but 
when  he  has  grown  up  he  swims  about  wherever 
he  chooses.  I  wonder  which  is  the  better  way ! 
Which  way  would  you  children  like  best? 


Seaside  and  Wayside. 


Flowers  of  the  Sea. 


Some  of  the  jelly- 
fishes  come  from  an 
egg.  Some  of  them 
come  from  what  is 
called  a  bud.  Let  us 
look  at  them  from  the 
bud  or  from  the  egg. 
The  egg  at  once  fast- 
ens to  some  solid  thing 
on  the  sea-bottom.  It 
grows  into  what  looks 
like  a  plant  with  stems 
and  branches. 

On  these  branches 
are  little  cup-shaped 
buds.  These  buds  are 
so  many  little  jelly- 
fish growing  on  one 
stem.  This  is  the 
larva  state.  After  a 
time,  these  buds  open, 
and  a  young  jelly-fish 
breaks  from  the  slen- 
der stem,  and  at  once 
goes  swimming  away, 
as  happy  as  a  jelly- 
fish knows  how  to  be. 


Sea-stars.  137 

LESSON    XXXVIII. 
SEA-STARS. 

Now  we  come  to  another  animal  who  seems  to  be 
made  on  the  star  plan.  Here  you  see  pictures  of 
him  in  the  water,  where  he  has  his  home.  Is  he 
not  a  pretty  thing  ? 

The  jelly-fish  has  one  of  his  names  from  his  shape, 
and  another  name  from  his  power  to  sting.  This 
fish  gets  one  name  from  his  shape,  —  star-fish. 
And  he  has  a  long,  hard  name  from  his  coat.  His 
coat  is  a  thick,  tough  skin.  It  has  upon  it  prickles 
much  like  those  of  a  hedge-hog.  Most  of  them 
have  five  rays,  or  ten,  because  each  single  ray  has 
been  made  into  two,  and  so  on. 

All  of  the  star-fish  do  not  keep  to  the  plan  of  five. 
The  sun-star  has  twelve  rays.  He  is  of  a  splendid, 
bright-red  color.  These  animals  seem  to  be  made 
on  the  star  plan ;  the  grown-up  sea-stars  show  this 
shape  most  clearly,  but  it  is  never  perfect ;  the 
young  ones  are  two-sided,  not  star-like. 

From  their  general  shape  they  are  called  "  stars," 
from  their  skins,  "  rough  or  hedge-hog  coated." 
This  skin  is  really  their  skeleton :  they  have  their 
bones  outside  like  the  crabs  and  some  other  crea- 
tures. 


Seaside  and  Wayside. 


The  Ray  Family  at  Home. 


The  crab's  skele- 
ton is  hard,  the  sea- 
star's  is  more  like  a 
tough  skin  filled  with 
little  plates  or  spikes 
of  shelly  stuff.  Some- 
times these  little 
plates  lock  together, 
sometimes  they 
merely  lie  near  each 
other,  so  some  of 
the  stars  have  much 
softer  coats  than  the 
others.  In  the  water 
these  coats  are  tough 
and  bend  like  leather. 
When  they  are  dry 
they  are  brittle.  If 
you  want  a  dead  star- 
fish to  bend,  drop  it 
into  water. 

I  will  tell  you  of 
some  kinds  of  star- 
fish, and  then  will  tell 
you  how  they  grow. 

In  the  picture  you 
see  a  star-fish  with 


Sea-stars.  139 

the  thin,  crooked  rays,  or  arms.  He  is  called  a 
sand-star,  because  he  likes  to  lie  close  to  the  sand 
on  the  sea-bottom.  He  is  of  a  sand  color. 

The  one  with  the  curled  arms,  like  plumes,  is 
called  the  brittle-star.  That  is  because  he  breaks 
so  easily.  He  is  a  very  queer  fellow.  When  things 
do  not  please  him,  he  drops  all  to  pieces.  It  would 
be  a  queer  thing,  if,  when  you  feel  cross  or  afraid, 
you  could  throw  yourself  down  and  fly  to  pieces, 
jerking  off  your  head,  your  arms,  and  your  legs ! 

You  have  heard  how  crabs  can  drop  off  a  claw, 
and  then  another  grows  out.  You  also  know  that 
a  spider  does  not  mind  much  about  losing  a  leg  or 
two.  These  facts  cause  us  to  feel  sure  that  these 
creatures  do  not  suffer  pain  at  the  loss  of  a  part 
of  their  bodies.  If  the  loss  of  legs,  claws,  or  rays 
caused  pain,  these  animals  would  not  be  so  ready  to 
drop  them. 

There  is  no  other  creature  that  breaks  itself  so 
readily  and  so  entirely  as  the  brittle-star.  It  will 
throw  off  all  its  rays,  and  they  will  float  away  in 
many  directions,  while  the  little  disk  is  left  alone  to 
sink  or  to  float. 

When  the  star-fish  loses  one  or  more,  or  even 
four  rays,  others  will  soon  grow.  All  the  animals 
of  this  family  renew  lost  parts  even  more  easily  than 
crabs  do. 


140  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

It  is  very  hard  to  get  a  brittle-star  out  of  the 
water.  As  soon  as  it  feels  a  net  or  scoop  or  the 
upper  air  about  it,  or  a  pail  of  fresh  water  rising 
gently  around  it,  it  breaks  into  many  pieces. 

On  the  end  of  every  ray  is  a  little  sharp  eye. 
When  you  frighten  "Mr.  Brittle-Star,  off  swim  his 
legs,  every  one  by  itself,  and  each  has  its  one  eye  to 
look  out  for  it.  I  never  saw  anything  else  so  queer ; 
did  you  ? 

The  strong,  prim-looking  star-fish,  with  five  points, 
is  called  the  cross-star.  It  is  the  common,  or  pattern 
star-fish.  There  are  many  other  kinds.  I  will  tell 
you  in  the  next  lesson  of  one  very  pretty  kind.  You 
must  go  to  larger  books  to  learn  all  that  is  known 
about  these  strange  and  lovely  creatures. 

We  will  look  at  the  model,  or  cross-star.  Turn 
the  animal  over.  The  mouth  is  in  the  centre  of  the 
under  side.  Do  you  not  find  there  is  a  seam,  or 
groove  of  the  hard  skin,  all  the  way  down  the  centre 
of  each  ray  ?  From  the  mouth  a  nerve  runs  down 
to  the  point  of  each  of  the  rays. 

Along  the  centres  of  the  under  openings  in  the 
rays  are  set  very,  very  many  little  blunt  points. 
These  points  are  like  tiny  tubes  close  together. 
It  is  on  these  that  the  star-fish  can  walk  or  creep 
on  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  or  over  rocks.  The 
star-fish  seek  their  food  as  they  crawl  slowly  about 


Sea-stars.  1 4 1 

Star-fish  are  very  greedy.  They  are  always  hun- 
gry. They  make  the  fishermen  much  trouble  by 
eating  the  fish-bait  off  their  hooks.  They  also 
devour  oysters.  When  they  get  into  ^.n  oyster-bed 
they  are  as  bad  as  the  drill.  When  an  army  of  star- 
fish go  to  a  part  of  the  coast  where  oysters  grow, 
the  oysters  are  soon  killed. 

The  star-fish  are  of  many  bright  and  pretty  colors. 
They  are  green,  brown,  gray,  red,  pink,  or  with 
several  colors  on  the  same  star. 

When  they  are  dead,  the  flesh,  which  has  much 
water  in  it,  dries  away.  The  tough  shell-like  skin 
is  left.  You  can  dry  them  by  pinning  them  on  a 
board.  Leave  them  for  a  few  days  in  the  sun  and 
wind.  If  you  do  not  pin  out  the  rays,  they  may 
curl  up. 

They  look  better  kept  in  alcohol,  but  that  is  not 
a  good  way  for  children.  I  fear  the  bottles  would 
soon  be  broken. 

LESSON    XXXIX. 
A   SEA-CHANGE. 

THE  star-fish  lay  a  great  number  of  eggs.  Let 
us  see  what  happens  to  eggs  of  one  kind.  They 
are  not  dropped  one  by  one  into  the  water,  or  strung 
on  threads  like  chains. 


142  Seaside  and   Wayside. 

They  stick  to  the  under-side  of  the  parent  fish, 
which  settles  on  the  sand  or  rocks,  resting  on  its 
back,  and  bends  up  its  five  rays,  like  a  basket,  to 
hold  and  protect  the  eggs. 

You  see  that  in  this  state  the  parent  can  neither 
walk  nor  eat.  Ancf  although  star-fish  are  both 
greedy  and  restless,  when  they  have  eggs  to  take 
care  of,  they  patiently  lie  quiet  for  ten  days,  until 
the  eggs  hatch. 

In  those  ten  days  the  parent  star-fish  cannot  eat 
nor  move.  But  at  the  end  of  ten  days,  the  eggs 
hatch  out  the  larvae,  and  they  float  away.  Then 
the  star-fish  finds  that  its  work  is  done,  and  it 
bends  back  and  begins  to  walk,  swim,  and  fish. 

Many  of  the  larvae,  when  they  first  come  from 
the  egg,  have  no  rays,  and  do  not  look  one  bit  like 
star-fish.  They  look  like  wee  specks  of  barrels,  with 
little  hairy  hoops,  and  a  plume  of  hairs  on  one  end. 

The  larva  can  swim ;  the  hairs  help  it  through 
the  water.  Slowly  it  begins  to  change  its  shape 
and  to  lose  its  loop  of  hairs.  All  it  wants  is  to 
swim  and  to  grow.  When  no  larger  than  a  flax- 
seed  it  looks  like  the  grown-up  star-fish. 

A  most  curious  thing  is  the  lily-star  egg,  which 
fastens  upon  a  coral,  or  something  firm  and  hard. 
Then  it  takes  as  fast  hold  as  the  barnacle  on  the  rock. 

It  shoots  up  a  stem,  and  on  the  top  of  the  stem 


A   Sea-change. 


grows  a  cup  like  a 
lily-bell.  It  does  not 
look  like  a  star-fish, 
but  like  a  lovely  lily. 
Fine  plumes  are  wav- 
ing from  its  cup. 

Some  kinds  of 
star-fish  have  larvae 
that  take  other 
shapes.  I  cannot 
tell  you  about  them 
all.  But  only  the 
feather-star  grows 
fast  to  some  object 
for  the  larval  state. 
In  that  state  they 
do  not  look  at  all 
like  the  parent.  Fi- 
nally, like  the  jelly- 
fish, they  change 
their  shape,  get 
loose,  and  swim  off 
to  see  the  water- 
world.  Then  they 
are  like  their  pa- 
rents. 

Now  let  us  look 


Water  Babies. 


144  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

again  at  our  star-fish.  The  little  things  like  tubes 
on  the  under-side  are  each  one  set  in  a  grove. 
They  are  full  of  fluid,  and  each  has  a  tiny  sucker. 
The  star-fish  can  move  them.  They  not  only  serve 
for  feet,  but  for  hands,  to  catch,  and  hold,  and  kill 
his  prey. 

Most  of  the  star-fish  are  dull  and  slow  of  motion. 
There  is  one  kind  which  moves  quickly.  It  is 
called  the  Snake's-tail-Star,  from  the  shape  of  the 
rays,  which  are  long  and  thin. 

There  is  one  of  these  animals  often  found  on  the 
coast  of  the  Southern  states,  which  has  all  the 
space  between  the  rays  filled  up  with  a  hard,  stony, 
or  shell-like  matter.  So  the  shape  of  this  animal  is 
not  like  a  star.  It  is  like  a  flat  box  with  five  sides. 
There  are  some  little  loop-holes  quite  through  this 
hard  box.  On  the  middle  of  the  top  is  the  pattern 
of  a  five-pointed  star-fish,  like  a  picture!  It  is  not 
a  star-fish,  but  an  urchin. 

In  this  Radiate,  the  disk  spreads  out,  so  as  to 
include,  or  shut  in,  the  rays.  On  the  one  hand, 
there  are  some  star-fish  that  have  the  disk  very 
small.  They  seem  to  be  all  rays  and  no  disk. 

People  who  have  studied  star-fish  divide  them 
into  six  families.  I  have  told  you  about  all  but  the 
fifth.  The  fifth  family  are  of  such  a  queer  shape 
that  they  are  called  cucumbers  —  Sea-Cucumbers. 


The  Star-fish  with  an  Overcoat.        145 

The  Chinese  like  to  eat  them,  and  ships  are  sent 
out  to  fish  for  them.  They  grow  in  the  shallows, 
near  the  islands  in  tropic  seas.  We  have  some  also 
on  our  coasts. 


LESSON    XL. 
THE    STAR-FISH    WITH    AN   OVERCOAT. 

THERE  is  a  very  pretty  star-fish  called  the  Sea- 
Egg,  or  Sea-Urchin.  This  creature  has  not  five 
points  or  rays ;  it  is  in  the  shape  of  a  ball,  some- 
what flattened. 

Do  you  say,  "  Can  this  belong  to  the  Star-fish 
Family,  when  it  has  no  rays  ? "  Well,  let  us  see. 


Fig.  2.  Fig.  3. 

Let  Figure  i  represent  our  Ray  pattern.  Bend 
the  rays  up,  and  the  plan  looks  like  Figure  2. 
Then  bend  them  until  the  tips  touch,  and  you  have 
the  form  of  Figure  3.  The  cover  of  this  star-fish, 
called  the  sea-urchin,  is  not  tough  and  skin-like ;  it 
is  hard  and  shell-like. 


146 


Seaside  and  Wayside. 


If  you  look  at  it,  you  will  see  that  it  has  up  and 
down  it  lines  of  knobs  and  dots  set  in  double  rows. 
You  will  find  five  double  lines  of  large  knobs,  and 
as  many  lines  of  small  dots  between  the  larger  ones. 

Do  not  think  that  you  can  see  these  marks  as 
soon  as  you  find  a  sea-urchin.  By  no  means!  The 


Weil  Dressed. 

sea-urchin  wears  a  fine  thick  overcoat,  which  hides 
his  shell. 

I  knew  a  boy  who  found  a  number  of  sea-eggs 
lying  on  the  beach.  He  cried  out,  "  Oh !  look  at 
all  the  chestnut  burrs  in  the  water !  "  The  sea-egg 
when  it  is  alive  looks  much  like  a  chestnut  burr, 
ripe,  but  not  open.  It  is  covered  all  over  with 


The  Star-fish  with  an   Overcoat.        147 


thorns  or  prickles  like  the  burr,  and  the  water  gives 
it  the  dark  brown  color. 

Now  let  us  look  into  this  matter.  You  have  read 
that  a  cross-star-fish  has  along  the  under  edges  of 
its  rays  many  little  tubes  full  of  something  like 
water.  He  can  move  them,  and  upon  them  he  walks. 


Undressed. 

The  sea-urchin  has  hard,  sharp  spines,  which 
cover  all  the  shell,  and  look  like  a  rough  coat.  In 
the  pictures  you  see  the  urchin  with  his  shell  bare, 
with  his  shell  half  bare,  and  with  his  full  overcoat 
of  quills.  When  the  shell  is  bare,  you  will  see  upon 
it  little  lines  of  points  or  knobs.  These  are  very 
pretty,  but  they  are  for  use,  rather  than  for  beauty, 


148  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

On  every  tiny  knob  is  placed  a  spine,  and  the 
urchin  can  turn  and  move  his  spines,  in  all  direc- 
tions, just  as  easily  as  you  can  move  your  arm  at 
the  shoulder-joint. 

When  the  urchin  is  alive,  the  quills  stand  out 
all  about  him.  AfteT  he  is  dead,  the  quills  drop 
off. 

Between  the  rows  of  knobs  are  five  double  rows 
of  holes,  like  pin-pricks.  Out  of  these  grow  such 
little  suckers  as  I  told  you  the  star-fish  had. 

In  some  countries  the  sea-urchins  are  small  — 
not  much  larger  than  a  dime.  In  warmer  seas  the 
urchins  grow  large,  even  as  large  as  a  large  orange. 
People  often  use  these  larger  ones  for  food. 

The  sea-urchin  walks  on  his  spines,  as  the  cross- 
star-fish  does  on  his.  But  as  the  quills  of  the 
urchin  are  all  around  him,  like  a  ball-cover,  his 
walk  is  a  roll  !  By  the  little  suckers  he  can 
cling  to  the  rocks,  and  he  can  climb  up  their 
sides. 

Turn  over  the  bare  urchin  shell,  and  you  will  see 
that  while  at  the  top  it  has  no  opening  larger  than 
a  pin-prick,  on  the  under  side  there  is  a  hole  where 
the  curved  rays  do  not  come  entirely  together. 
You  see  the  urchin  must  have  this  open  place  for 
his  fish-lines,  and  to  put  food  into  his  ever-hungry 
mouth. 


The  Star-fish  with  an   Overcoat        149 

Since  the  sea-urchin  eats  so  much,  he  must  grow! 
Does  he  ? 

Yes,  the  sea-urchin  grows,  and  it  cannot  cast  its 
shell  as  a  crab  can.  It  has  not  a  soft  skin  as  you 
have,  yet  his  shell  is  never  too  tight.  How  can  the 
shell  expand  as  the  urchin  grows  ? 

The  shell  is  made  up  of  a  great  many  little  plates, 
or  scales.  As  the  urchin  within  grows  and  needs 
more  room,  these  little  scale-plates  grow  larger  all 
around. 

Here  is  a  strange  thing:  these  wee  plates  are 
set  like  bricks  in  a  dome.  You  know  the  urchin  is 
made  on  the  five-ray  pattern  bent  like  a  flattened 
ball. 

About  the  body  of  the  urchin,  within  the  shell,  is 
wrapped  a  soft,  pretty,  silk-like  mantle.  This  man- 
tle lines  the  shell.  It  takes  lime  from  the  sea- water 
and  builds  it  into  more  shell  along  the  five  edges  of 
these  wee  plates.  It  also  adds  new  plates. 

So,  as  the  urchin  keeps  growing  all  the  time,  its 
mantle  is  building  upon  the  plates  all  the  time. 
The  house  or  coat,  whichever  you  choose  to  call 
it,  grows  with  the  growth  of  its  owner.  I  think 
your  mother  would  be  glad  if  she  could  find  you  a 
coat  to  grow  with  the  growth  of  your  body. 

The  shell  part  of  the  urchin  is  gray  or  greenish 
gray.  The  quills  are  often  red,  brown,  pink,  or 


150  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

purple.  When  a  number  of  these  urchins  are  fast 
upon  a  rock,  they  look  like  a  bed  of  lovely  fringed 
flowers. 

The  urchins  are  able  to  bore  holes  even  in  the 
hard  limestone  rock.  They  bore  these  holes  to  live 
in,  and,  as  they  grow^  they  make  the  holes  larger, 
but  not  the  openings.  So,  after  a  time,  they  are 
shut  into  a  prison  which  they  have  dug  for  them- 
selves. They  do  not  do  this  on  our  coast. 

On  the  coast  of  Spain  you  will  find  the  rocks 
covered  with  these  urchins,  fixed  in  holes.  No 
doubt  they  feel  that  stone  walls  are  safe  walls. 
If  they  had  wished  to  get  away,  and  go  and  come 
freely,  I  think  they  could  have  made  their  door- 
ways as  large  as  themselves. 

There  is  much  more  to  be  learned  about  sea- 
urchins.  You  will  do  well  to  study  them  when  you 
can.  In  fact,  the  longest  life  is  not  long  enough 
in  which  to  learn  even  what  is  to  be  learned  of  very 
simple  and  common  things.  There  is  danger  that 
when  we  have  learned  a  little  we  shall  become 
proud,  and  that  we  shall  not  take  the  trouble  to 
learn  the  very  much  more  which  we  do  not  know. 


The  Flying  Flowers.  151 

LESSON    XLI. 
THE    FLYING    FLOWERS. 

You  have  just  read  about  some  of  the  Radiate 
Family.  From  their  beauty  they  have  been  called 
Flowers  of  the  Sea.  We  will  now  hear  about  some 
insects  which  might  be  called  Flying  Flowers. 

I  knew  a  little  boy  who,  the  first  time  that  he 
noticed  butterflies,  cried  out,  "  Oh,  see  all  those 
flowers  flying ! "  That  was  a  pretty  idea.  It  well 
described  the  butterflies,  as  you  will  see  when  you 
come  to  read  about  them.1 

There  is  another  family  of  insects  which  also 
deserves  the  name  of  Flying  Flowers.  Their  shape, 
colors,  and  motions  are  very  lovely.  These  insects 
are  the  Dragon-Flies. 

I  am  sorry  that  such  beautiful  creatures  have 
had  harsh  names  given  to  them.  They  are  called 
Dragon -Flies,  Horse -Stingers,  Darning -Needles, 
Spindles,  and  so  on.  These  names  have  nothing 
true  in  them.  These  pretty  insects  never  harm 
any  one. 

The  French  people  call  them  Little  Ladies. 
Now,  that  is  a  nicer  name.  It  is  given  to  them 
because  they  are  graceful  and  pretty,  and  also  neat 
and  delicate,  in  their  looks  and  motions. 

1  See  Seaside  and  Wayside,  No.  3. 


152 


Seaside  and  Wayside. 


A  Flight  of  Dragon-flies. 


I  knew  a  man  who 
called  these  insects 
Air-Jewels.  That  was 
because  they  are  al- 
most always  on  the 
wing,  and  their  eyes 
and  bodies  flash  and 
shine  like  precious 
gems. 

I  have  known  silly 
people  to  start  and 
scream  when  one  of 
these  dragon-flies 
came  darting  by.  That 
was  foolish;  they 
might  as  well  scream 
at  a  rose  or  a  violet. 
There  is  no  need  of 
running  away  from 
one  of  them.  The 
great  trouble  is  that 
they  are  so  swift  and 
shy,  you  cannot 
easily  catch  one  if  you 
wish  to  examine  it. 

The  dragon-flies 
are  cousins  of  the 


The  Flying  Flowers.  153 

termites,  the  may-flies,  and  the  lace-wing  flies. 
They  have  four  large,  fine,  lace-like  wings,  divided 
into  a  great  many  spaces  or  meshes. 

The  two  pairs  of  wings  are  nearly  or  quite  equal 
in  size.  The  head  is  large.  The  body  is  long 
and  light.  They  are  very  active  in  their  motions, 
and  are  very  seldom  at  rest.  They  fly  so  swiftly 
that  you  can  scarcely  see  their  thin  wings,  but 
only  the  flash  of  their  bright-colored  bodies. 

Dragon-flies  like  damp  or  wet  places.  You  will 
find  them  above  lakes  and  ponds.  They  fly  over 
marshy  places  or  by  the  edges  of  quiet  streams. 

Go  out  to  some  still,  silver-like  pond,  where  the 
tall  trees  stand  in  a  ring  about  the  water.  The 
ferns,  the  tall  yellow  spikes  of  the  St.  John's-wort, 
and  the  blue  clubs  of  the  arrow-plant  make  a  wreath 
around  the  sandy  margin.  There  you  will  see 
hundreds  of  gay  dragon-flies  darting  up  and  down. 
They  swing  in  the  sunbeams,  as  if  glad  to  be  alive. 

In  their  great  beauty  the  dragon-flies  are  as 
pretty  as  the  butterflies.  Like  them,  they  love 
the  sunshine.  They  are  the  children  of  the  sum- 
mer time.  The  hotter  the  weather,  the  happier  the 
dragon-flies  seem  to  be. 

Let  us  look  for  a  little  time  at  a  dragon-fly.  It 
belongs  to  the  class  of  the  ring-made  creatures.  Its 
body  is  made  in  rings,  and  its  feet  and  legs  are 


154  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

jointed.  The  body  is  very  long  and  slim.  Some 
kinds  of  dragon-flies  have  the  body  rather  flat,  but 
usually  it  is  round,  is  slimmest  in  the  middle,  and 
thickens  a  little  both  at  the  tail  and  where  it  joins 
the  breast. 

The  wings  of  the*  dragon-fly  are  horny  and  of 
iris  or  golden  hues.  Sometimes  the  body  is  a  vivid 
blue  or  bright  green.  Sometimes  it  is  banded  or 
spotted  with  yellow  or  scarlet. 

The  wide  wings  look  like  delicate  lace  spread  on 
a  fine  frame.  A  little  child  who  found  one  of  these 
wings,  brought  it  to  me,  saying,  "  I  dot  a  dood  piece 
of  lace ! " 

The  head  of  the  dragon-fly  is  large,  and  has  on 
each  side  what  you  would  call  a  great  eye.  But  like 
that  of  the  house-fly,  this  eye  is  made  up  of  many 
eyes  set  so  as  to  seem  to  be  one.  I  hardly  dare 
tell  you  how  many  there  are  —  over  twelve  thou- 
sand !  Through  these  wonderful  eyes  the  light 
plays  and  flashes  like  fire.  Between  these  big  eyes 
three  little  simple  eyes  are  set  in  a  band  across  the 
head. 

The  dragon-fly  has  a  queer  mouth.  The  jaws  are 
hidden  under  two  thin,  skin-like  lips.  These  move 
up  and  down  as  it  eats.  It  does  not  suck  food,  like 
the  butterflies  and  house-flies,  but  eats  after  the 
manner  of  the  beetle. 


Under  the  Water.  155 

Thus,  you  see,  the  dragon-fly  belongs  to  the  great 
Division  of  the  Eaters,  not  of  the  Drinkers.  Instead 
of  feeding  on  nectar,  as  we  would  think  so  lovely  a 
thing  should,  it  eats  insects. 

All  its  life  long,  from  the  egg,  it  is  always  greedy, 
because  it  is  always  hungry.  It  spends  all  its  time 
hunting  for  food.  Who  could  count  how  many 
small  insects  a  dragon-fly,  eats  in  his  short  lifetime  ? 


LESSON    XLII. 
UNDER   THE    WATER. 

Now  let  us  hear  the  story  of  the  dragon-fly  from 
its  beginning.  While  it  is  an  egg,  a  larva,  and  a 
pupa,  it  lives  under  the  water.  Only  when  about 
to  burst  from  the  pupa-case,  and  at  last  get  its 
wings,  does  it  leave  the  water  and  seek  the  upper 
air. 

In  all  its  early  stages  the  dragon-fly  lives  in  cool, 
still  shallows,  among  green  and  graceful  water- 
plants.  There  the  sunshine  glows  all  about  it,  as 
it  darts  over  the  bottom  of  the  pond,  hunting  for 
food. 

The  mother  dragon-fly,  as  she  flits  over  the 
water,  drops  her  eggs  upon  it.  They  sink  to  the 
bottom.  She  may  put  them  into  plant  stems. 


i56 


Seaside  and  Wayside 


Home  of  the  Dragon-fly. 


Their  cases  are  water- 
proof. If  the  eggs  are 
not  eaten  up  by  beetles 
and  other  fellow-citizens 
under  water,  they  are 
quite  safe,  and  soon  the 
larvae  hatch  out. 

Most  insects  move 
quickly  in  the  larva  state, 
and  are  dull  or  quite 
asleep  in  the  pupa-case. 
This  is  not  the  way 
with  the  dragon-fly.  He 
is  busy  and  strong  all 
his  life.  The  egg  settled 
upon  the  pond  bottom 
is  quiet;  the  larva  moves 
about,  but  is  rather  slow 
and  lazy.  The  pupa 
dashes  here  and  there, 
and  frightens  all  the 
little  animals  in  the 
pond.  At  last  the  per- 
fect insect  rises  on  the 
wing.  It  darts  about 
with  almost  the  swift- 
ness of  light. 


Under  the  Water.  157 

The  larva  of  the  dragon-fly  is  gray.  It  has  six 
legs.  It  is  always  hungry,  and  feeds  on  small 
water-animals,  as  beetles,  grubs,  shrimps,  leeches, 
and  their  young. 

This  larva  does  not  run  after  its  food,  but  lies 
waiting  for  it.  On  the  bottom  of  the  pond,  hidden 
in  the  shadow  of  a  leaf,  root,  or  stone,  or  seated  on 
stems  or  leaves  that  are  under  water,  the  larva  waits 
patiently  for  its  prey  to  come  by. 

Did  you  ever  see  a  person  with  a  net  for  catching 
insects  ?  This  net  is  a  fine  bag  set  on  a  little  hoop. 
The  hoop  is  fastened  upon  a  long  handle.  Some- 
times the  handle  has  joints,  and  will  fold  up.  As 
insects  dart  by,  the  person  with  the  net  brings  it 
down  over  them  with  a  quick  motion. 

The  dragon-fly  larva  has  something  much  like 
this  with  which  to  catch  its  food.  The  lower  jaw 
is  fastened  by  a  hinge  to  a  little  jointed  rod.  The 
rod,  and  the  jaw-plate  upon  the  end  of  it,  when  not 
in  use,  are  folded  down  upon  the  head  of  the  insect. 

The  plate  has  fine  teeth  upon  its  edge.  When 
the  prey  comes  by,  the  larva  snaps  out  its  rod,  with 
the  plate,  as  if  they  both  were  on  a  spring,  and  so 
catches  the  things  that  are  swimming  along  a  little 
way  off.  They  do  not  see  their  foe,  and  do  not 
know  that  he  can  reach  so  far  with  his  sweep  net. 

The  teeth  on  the  edge  of  the  plate  shut  up,  and 


158  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

then  the  rod  folds  back,  and  puts  the  food  into  the 
hungry  larva's  throat.  I  suppose  the  little  creatures 
that  swim  along  feel  quite  happy  and  safe,  and  then, 
all  at  once,  out  springs  this  weapon,  and  they  are 
gone. 

But  this  little  plague  of  the  pond  is  not  quite 
safe  himself.  There  are  some  other  creatures  down 
under  the  water  that  eat  him.  All  nature  is  a  kind 
of  game  of  "  tit  for  tat,"  you  see. 

The  larva  of  the  dragon-fly  breathes  air.  He  has 
no  lungs  as  you  have,  but  gills  as  a  fish  has.  How 
does  he  get  air  ? 

Through  his  body  goes  a  long  tube.  The  tube 
ends  in  a  horny  point  at  the  tail.  This  point  is 
made  of  five  very  fine  spikes.  These  spikes  and 
this  tube  are  able  to  take  from  the  water  some  of 
the  air  that  is  in  it.  Thus  he  gets  air  much  as  a 
fish  does.1 

This  spike  on  the  tail  of  the  larva  has  a  very 
strange  use.  It  shoots  out  the  water  which  it  has 
taken  in,  as  you  would  shoot  water  from  a  squirt-gun. 
It  shoots  the  water  out  with  such  power  that  it  drives 
the  larva  along  in  the  water. 

Did  you  ever  see  a  steamboat  driven  through  the 
water  by  a  screw  or  wheel  at  the  stern,  or  hind 
part?  What  do  you  think  that  the  man  who  first 

1  See  Seaside  and  Wayside,  No.  3.     Lessons  on  Fish. 


Under  the  Water.  159 

made  such  a  boat  said  ?  He  said  that  he  took  his 
idea  of  how  it  should  be  made  by  seeing  this  queer 
larva  move  in  the  water. 

When  this  creature  seizes  food,  he  likes  to  strike 
it  from  below.  He  rises  under  it  in  the  stroke,  as 
the  shark  does.  Dragon-fly  larvae  are  very  bold. 
They  can  eat  large  and  hard  insects. 

When  the  larva  changes  to  a  pupa,  it  becomes 
more  lively,  fierce,  and  hungry  than  ever.  It  does 
not  change  its  form  at  this  time  as  much  as  most 
insects  do. 

The  dragon-fly  pupa  has  six  legs,  and  each  foot 
has  strong  hooks  on  it.  Its  color  is  pale  brown, 
clear  and  shining,  and  its  case  is  horny.  Some 
rings  of  the  body  have  horny  spikes  upon  them. 
Upon  the  case  of  the  chest  is  a  pattern  like 
wings. 

These  pupae  dash  about  the  bottom  of  the  pond, 
swimming  or  running,  and  eat  almost  everything 
that  lives  there.  The  body  and  head  of  the  pupa 
are  thicker  than  those  of  the  grown-up  dragon-fly. 
They  are  made  for  seizing  and  killing  prey. 

When  it  is  nearly  time  for  the  pupa  to  come  out 
as  a  dragon-fly,  the  case  grows  clearer,  like  glass. 
The  large,  beautiful  eyes  grow  brighter  and  brighter, 
and  the  pupa  leaves  the  deeper  part  and  gets  near 
the  edge  of  the  pond, 


160  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

LESSON    XLIII. 
A    HAPPY    CHANGE. 

WHEN  the  close  of  "the  pupa  state  draws  near,  the 
coming  dragon-fly  loses  its  fierce  appetite.  It  seems 
to  feel  tired  and  heavy.  It  breathes  slowly,  as  if  it 
could  not  get  air  enough.  The  body  has  changed 
inside  the  horny  case,  and  the  time  is  near  when  it 
will  leave  the  water  for  air,  and  walking  for  flying. 

Once  the  larva  wanted  nothing  better  than  to 
chase  bugs  about  under  water.  Now,  all  at  once, 
it  longs  for  the  free  air  and  for  the  sun.  It  needs 
no  one  to  tell  it  what  to  do.  In  some  way  it  knows 
exactly  how  it  should  act. 

This  tired  pupa  now  seeks  the  stem  of  some  tall 
reed  or  grass  that  grows  in  the  water.  Slowly  it 
crawls  up  the  stem.  The  hooks  on  the  feet  take 
fast  hold  as  it  goes,  and  it  keeps  on  until  it  is  nearly 
a  yard  above  water. 

The  hooks,  though  very  small,  are  so  sharp  and 
hard  that  they  can  go  into  wood.  When  the  pupa 
is  as  high  up  as  he  wants  to  be  he  drives  the  hooks 
into  the  stem.  Thus  it  will  hold  firm  even  when  it 
twists  and  struggles  hard. 

The  pupa  likes  best  to  find  two  reeds  or  stems 


A   Happy   Change. 


161 


near,  so  that  it  can  take  hold  of  both  and  swing 
between  the  two.  Then,  like  a  child  in  a  swing,  it 
begins  to  sway  to  and 
fro.  Now,  as  it  sways, 
a  strange  thing  hap- 
pens. The  hard  pupa- 
case  splits  open  upon 
the  back,  and  look, 
inside  the  case,  we 
see  the  perfect  insect, 
with  its  wings ! 

The  pupa-case  is 
firmly  held  by  its 
hooked  feet,  while  the 
new  insect  twists  and 
pulls,  and  so  gets 
free ;  and  little  by 
little  its  head,  legs, 
wings,  and  long  body 
come  forth,  arid  finally 
hang  only  by  the  last 
ring  of  the  body. 

Then  you  would 
think  it  was  dead.  For  after  it  stretches  out  first 
one  leg  and  then  the  other,  it  hangs  by  its  last  ring, 
stiff  and  still.  But  it  is  only  resting.  After  about 
fifteen  minutes  it  awakes.  Taking  hold  firm  with 


162  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

its  feet  upon  a  stem  or  leaf,  it  lets  go  its  hold  upon 
the  pupa-case.  That  is  left  hanging  by  its  hooks  in 
its  place. 

Here  is  now  a  dragon-fly,  with  large  head,  with 
two  great  cluster  eyes,  six  legs,  four  wings,  and 
long,  bright-hued  bocly !  And  now,  at  last,  it  can 

breathe  freely 
through  all 
those  tubes  and 
air-holes  you 
have  been  told 
about. 

Still  the  in- 
sect does  not 
look  like  the 
full-made  drag- 
on-fly. The  colors  are  dull,  and  the  wings  are 
folded  up.  The  body  is  soft,  damp,  and  too  short. 
The  big  eyes  are  dim. 

As  if  half  asleep  it  still  clings  to  the  stem,  not  far 
from  the  case,  which  is  the  old  shape  of  itself. 
Hanging  to  the  reeds  by  the  pond  you  will  often 
find  these  old  coffins,  if  you  look  for  them. 

The  new  insect  is  drawing  in  the  sunshine  and 
fresh  air.  It  stands  still  and  breathes  hard,  filling 
its  new  body  with  pure,  dry  air.  Now  and  then  its 
wings  quiver, 


A  Happy  Change.  163 

As  they  quiver  they  spread  out,  fold  after  fold,  as 
silken  banners  wave  out  upon  the  air.  Then  at 
last  they  are  spread  out  wide,  in  all  their  beauty. 
The  dragon-fly  has  reached  its  last  and  highest 
state.  It  can  sail  away  where  it  pleases  on  its  new 
wings. 

As  the  wings  grow  larger,  the  eyes  of  the  dragon- 
fly grow  brave  and  bright;  its  body  dries.  Then 
it  gleams  like  a  jewel.  Its  fresh  colors  come  out 
clearly.  It  feels  strong  and  active. 

Then,  all  at  once,  it  uses  its  new  wings.  It  rises 
into  the  air  and  flashes  here  and  there,  just  as 
hungry  and  ten  times  swifter  than  ever  before. 

The  flight  of  the  dragon-fly  is  called  hawking,  for 
it  is  like  the  motion  of  that  strong  bird,  the  hawk. 
If  it  gets  caught  in  a  place  where  its  wide  wings 
cannot  turn,  it  can  fly  backwards  and  get  off  safely. 
In  a  place  where  the  wings  might  be  injured  by 
striking  against  leaves  or  branches,  it  flies  out  in 
this  way. 

When  dragon-flies  are  dead,  the  great  beauty  of 
their  bodies  passes  away.  They  fade  and  grow 
dull,  as  when  they  first  came  from  the  pupa-case. 
The  scarlet,  yellow,  blue,  or  green  turns  to  a  dull 
drab.  So  you  cannot  keep  them  as  well  as  you  can 
keep  beetles.  It  is  life  that  gives  the  dragon-fly  its 
splendid  beauty. 


164  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

LESSON    XLIV. 
THE   DRAGON-FLY   AND   HIS   COUSINS. 

THE  dragon-fly  eats  almost  every  kind  of  insects 
which  you  have  thus  far  read  about.  Beetles,  spiders, 
flies,  centipedes,  fresh-water  shrimps,  and  polliwogs 
are  its  food. 

The  dragon-fly  is  a  larva  for  a  year.  It  is  a  per- 
fect dragon-fly  only  a  part  of  one  summer.  You 
will  find  the  most  dragon-flies  in  July  or  August. 
When  the  frost  comes,  they  die. 

Dragon-flies  are  very  strong;  they  are  fond  of 
chasing  other  insects.  They  seem  to  catch  and 
tear  them  for  the  mere  pleasure  of  pulling  them  to 
pieces.  They  also  fight  with  each  other,  and  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Dragon-fly  have  some  hard  battles. 

The  dragon-fly  does  not  have  a  long  lip,  or  mask, 
set  on  a  rod,  as  the  larva  had.  They  fly  so  swiftly 
that  they  do  not  need  such  help  in  getting  food. 

Few  insects  are  so  easy  on  the  wing  as  this,  and 
few  have  such  beauty  of  wing.  Yet  I  think,  after 
all,  that  'the  chief  beauty  of  the  dragon-fly  is  in  its 
eyes.  These  are  like  two  great  flaming  jewels. 

The  eyes  are  beautiful,  for  this  clear,  glowing 
light  in  them  ;  the  body,  for  vivid  color ;  the  wings, 
for  their  lace-like  texture.  Each  of  the  wings  has  a 


The   Dragon-fly  and  his   Cousins.        165 

dark  spot  on  the  front  edge.  Often,  in  flying,  this 
spot  and  the  line  of  bright  color  of  the  body,  almost 
like  a  streak  of  fire,  are  all  that  can  be  seen  of  the 
insect. 

There  are  several  kinds  of  dragon-flies.     These 
are  different  in  color  and   size,  and   in  the  shape 


The  Dragon-fly  and  his  Cousins. 

of  their  bodies.  One,  with  a  very  long,  thin,  dark 
body,  is. called  the  Darning-Needle.  One,  with  a 
thicker  body,  is  called  the  Ringed-Club.  Its  body 
is  largest  at  the  tail  end.  This  one  is  dressed  in 
black  and  gold,  and  is  large  and  strong. 

A  smaller  kind  of  dragon-fly,  which  has  no  spots 
on  the  wings,  is  called  the  Little  Lady.     This  is 


1 66  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

among  the  prettiest  of  all ;  some  of  them  are  bright 
red ;  some  a  clear  light  blue.  They  look  more  like 
creatures  in  some  dream  about  fairies,  than  like  real 
live  insects,  for  they  flit  here  and  there  like  streaks 
of  gay-colored  light,  and  you  can  scarcely  see  the 
wings  on  which  they  fly. 

The  dragon-fly  has  some  very  handsome  rela- 
tions. One  of  these  is  called  the  Lace-Wing.  The 
head  and  body  of  the  lace-wing  are  bright  green, 
its  wings  are  like  white  gauze ;  but  its  chief  beauty 
is  in  its  eyes.  Some  call  it  the  Golden-Eye,  because 
its  eyes  are  like  a  drop  of  amber,  or  melted  gold. 

The  veins  in  the  wings  of  the  lace-wing  are  very 
fine.  As  the  light  falls  on  them,  they  change  in  color, 
and  look  like  pink,  red,  blue,  green,  or  gold  threads. 

These  lovely  lace-wings  do  not  like  the  bright 
light  of  the  noon-day,  as  the  dragon-fly  does. 
They  prefer  to  come  out  in  the  moonlight,  or  when 
the  sun  is  setting. 

The  lace-wing  is  not  a  water  lover,  as  the  dragon- 
fly is.  It  lays  its  eggs  on  leaves,  and  every  egg  is 
held  upon  a  little  silken  stem.  The  stem  is  much 
like  the  silk  which  the  spider  spins.  These  eggs 
are  laid  in  groups. 

When  the  young  lace-wings  come  out  of  the 
eggs,  they  feed  on  the  little  aphis.  You  remember 
the  aphis  makes  the  honey  that  ants  are  so  fond  of. 


The  Wings  of  the   Dragon-fly.         167 

In  two  weeks  these  larvae  change  to  pupae.  To 
do  this  the  lace-wing  larva  spins  a  nice  silk  ball,  in 
which  it  goes  to  bed  for  a  nap  while  it  is  a  pupa. 

In  this,  you  see,  it  is  not  at  all  like  the  young 
dragon-fly,  which  hunts  and  runs  about  while  it  is  a 
pupa.  The  ball  of  the  sleeping  lace-wing  is  about 
the  size  and  shape  of  a  wild  pea,  or  vetch  seed. 

The  lace-wings  are  short  lived.  One  summer 
makes  a  life-time  for  them.  In  a  summer  they 
grow  from  infancy  to  age,  make  all  their  changes, 
and  live  out  their  time  as  complete  insects. 

When  the  lace-wing  is  dead,  it  loses  all  its  fine 
colors  in  a  very  few  hours. 


LESSON    XLV. 
THE    WINGS    OF   THE    DRAGON-FLY. 

WE  can  find  no  better  example  than  the  dragon- 
fly, of  the  way  in  which  insects  behave  when  they 
leave  the  pupa-case. 

You  know  that  this  case  is  horny  or  tough,  and 
always  seems  smaller  than  the  grown-up  insect ;  so 
the  insect  must  be  very  closely  packed  in. 

No  person  could  pack  a  new  insect  back  into  the 
case  it  has  just  left. 

While  the  dragon-fly  pupa  is  under  water,  the 


1 68  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

case  is  kept  tough,  and  yet  soft  enough  to  bend. 
But  when  the  pupa  crawls  up  the  stem  of  the  plant 
into  the  air,  the  case  soon  dries  and  becomes  brittle. 

As  the  fly  struggles  within,  the  dry  case  will 
easily  split.  The  little  wet  coat,  which  covers  the 
body  while  it  is  in  the  case,  makes  it  more  easy  to 
slip  out  of  the  shell  when  it  cracks  open.  You 
know  if  you  have  on  your  finger  a  ring  which  is  too 
tight,  you  can  pull  it  off  if  you  wet  your  finger. 

The  wet  coat  of  the  fly  in  the  case  keeps  the 
wings  from  being  hurt  by  their  close  folding.  After 
they  are  dry  and  spread  out,  they  are  easy  to  break. 
Then  it  is  very  easy  to  hurt  or  spoil  them. 

The  fly  seems  to  know  this,  and  is  careful  of  its 
wings.  In  the  act  of  unfolding,  the  fly  holds  its 
wings  from  touching  any  object,  even  its  own  body. 

When  the  dragon-fly  gets  free  from  the  case,  it 
knows  just  how  to  spread  its  lovely  wings  into 
perfect  shape.  It  stands  quite  still,  and  far  enough 
from  stems  or  leaves  to  keep  its  wide  wings  safe. 

It  does  not  move  its  wings,  but  lets  the  air  do 
the  work,  while  it  holds  its  bent  body  away  from 
the  wings.  The  quiver  you  see  through  it,  now 
and  then,  is  a  motion  of  the  body;  and  I  will  soon 
tell  you  what  it  means. 

When  the  fly  first  comes  from  the  case,  its  wings 
are  soft,  and  will  bend  as  easily  as  wet  paper, 


The  Wings  of  the   Dragon-fly.         169 

After  they  are  dry,  they  are  like  thin  plates  of 
glass.  These  wings  have  very  many  nerves  through 
them.  Their  frame  is  like  a  fine  net-work,  and,  as 
it  is  touched  by  the  air,  it  spreads  slowly  to  its  full 
size.  If,  at  this  drying-time,  the  wings  are  hurt, 
they  will  never  come  to  their  right  shape. 


If  any  one  should  try  to  help  a  dragon-fly  out  of 
its  case  its  wings  would  be  ruined  and  never  take 
their  right  shape.  Human  hands  are  too  clumsy 
for  such  work. 

When  first  the  pupa  comes  from  the  case,  the 
wings  and  body  are  of  a  dull,  faded  color.  But  as 
it  stands  in  the  sun  and  air,  you  can  see  it  change 
from  minute  to  minute. 


170  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

Fold  after  fold  of  the  wings  shakes  out;  ring 
after  ring  of  the  body  stretches  to  its  proper  length; 
the  joints  of  the  legs  come  to  their  right  shape  and 
firmness.  From  all  the  body  of  the  insect  a  mist 
seems  to  pass  away ;  and  the  colors  of  the  fly  come 
out,  and  red,  blue,  green,  gold,  shine  in  beauty. 

Now  let  us  look  closely  at  these  fine  wide  wings. 
Although  they  are  so  thin,  like  gauze,  yet  they  are 
double.  There  is  a  surface  on  each  side,  spread 
over  a  very  fine  frame.  The  parts  of  this  frame  are 
small  as  the  finest  hairs. 

And  yet,  though  so  tiny,  they  are  all  hollow. 
They  are  tubes  or  pipes.  They  carry  through  the 
wing,  air  and  a  very  thin  white  fluid,  which  is  the 
blood  of  the  insect. 

Now  that  you  know  this,  can  you  clearly  see  how 
the  wings  expand  ?  As  soon  as  the  dragon-fly  is 
bor  i  from  its  pupa-case,  air  and  this  thin  fluid  are 
driven  through  these  fine  tubes.  As  they  fill,  they 
stretch  out,  and  the  thin  surface  which  covers  them 
spreads  with  them. 

If  you  notice  the  fly  as  it  is  thus  getting  its  shape, 
you  will  see  that  quiver  which  I  spoke  of.  That 
motion  is  the  pumping  of  air  and  fluid  through  its 
tubes ;  and,  no  doubt,  by  this  action  the  fly  spreads 
out  its  wings  and  its  body.  By  such  a  motion  the 
blow-fly  spreads  out  its  big  head. 


The  Wings  of  the   Dragon-fly.         171 

The  dragon-fly  spends  about  fifteen  minutes  in 
getting  into  shape.  Sometimes  half  an  hour  is 
needed.  After  that,  the  fly  rests  for  an  hour  or 
two,  before  it  tries  its  wings  in  the  air.  Very  likely 
it  wishes  to  give  its  wings  time  to  get  quite  firm 
and  hard. 

Butterflies,  Lace-Wings,  May-Flies,  and  other  in- 
sects of  the  kind  have  their  wings  made  in  this 
way ;  so  what  you  learn  about  one  will  help  you  to 
understand  the  others.  You  read  of  the  Lace-Wing 
in  the  last  lesson,  and  in  the  next  book  you  will 
hear  about  Butterflies. 

The  May-Flies  are  very  pretty  insects.  They  are 
something  like  dragon-flies,  but  very  much  smaller, 
and  not  fond  of  tearing  up  other  insects.  You  will 
find  them  in  moist  places.  The  body  of  the  May- 
Fly  is  much  slimmer  even  than  that  of  the  dragon- 
fly. The  wings  are  unequal.  Their  heads  are 
smaller.  May-Flies  have  two  fore  legs,  nearly  as 
long  as  the  body,  held  almost  straight  out  as  they 
fly.  On  their  tails  they  have  three  long  stiff  hairs, 
twice  as  long  as  the  body.  These  hairs  spread  out, 
fan-shape. 

These  insects  are  often  called  May-Flies,  because 
they  usually  come  in  May.  But  they  have  another 
name,  which  means  the  "child  of  an  hour."  This 
name  is  given  them  because  they  seldom  live  longer 


172 


Seaside  and  Wayside. 


A  Child  of  an  Hour. 


than  one  day,  and  of- 
ten only  for  an  hour 
or  two.  In  the  egg, 
larva,  and  pupa  they 
live  about  two  years ; 
but,  once  born  with 
wings,  they  soon  die. 

And  how  do  they 
spend  that  short  life? 
They  do  not  eat,  for 
they  have  no  mouths. 
As  they  are  not  hun- 
gry, they  do  not  hunt. 
They  spend  their 
whole  time  in  flying. 
Their  flight  is  a  sort 
of  dance  in  the  air; 
they  rise  and  fall,  and 
spin  about. 

Great  numbers  of 
them  come  out  to- 
gether, spin  about, 
and  drop  their  eggs 
in  the  water.  But 
soon  they  flutter 
down,  dead,  among 
the  grasses.  That  is 


Review  Questions.  173 

the  story  of  the  pretty  May-Fly.  I  have  been  on 
a  large  island  on  a  day  when  May-Flies  had  come 
out :  the  air  was  full  of  their  shining  silver  shapes 
—  they  lit  on  people's  clothes,  and  seemed  to  cover 
them  with  a  gauze  veil. 

Would  you  not  like  to  seek  out  in  their  homes, 
and  then  read  and  study  about,  the  very  many 
strange  and  wonderful  insects  that  are  in  the  world  ? 

REVIEW    QUESTIONS. 

I.     THE   ANT. 

1.  Describe  an  insect. 

2.  How  are  the  wings  of  hook-winged  insects 
fastened  together  in  flight  ? 

3.  Describe  an  ant. 

4.  Describe  queen  ants  and  worker  ants. 

5.  What  becomes  of  the  queen  ant's  wings  ? 

6.  Tell  me  how  an  ant-hill  is  begun. 

7.  Describe  an  ant-hill. 

8.  Tell  how  nurse  ants  care  for  baby  ants. 

9.  What  can  you  say  of  soldier  ants  ? 

10.  How  do  the  ants  make  slaves? 

11.  What  insect  is  called  the  u  ant's  cow"? 

12.  Tell  me  about  the  ants  and  their  cow. 

13.  How  does  the  ant  dress  and  cleanse  its  body? 

14.  What  do  you  know  about  the  farmer  ants? 

1 5.  What  kinds  of  food  do  ants  eat  ? 


174  Seaside  and   Wayside. 

1 6.  How  do  ants  eat? 

17.  Tell  me  how  ants  bury  their  dead. 

1 8.  What  do  you  think  about  termites,  or  white 
ants,  being  of  the  same  order  as  other  ants  ? 

19.  What  do  you  know  about  parasol  ants  ? 

20.  How  do  ants  move  from  one  hill  to  another? 

21.  Describe  the  march  of  an  ant  army. 

22.  What  do  you  know  about  ant  acid  ? 

23.  What  is  the  opening  into  an  ant-hill  called? 

24.  Have  ant-hills  more  than  one  gate  ? 

25.  What  do  you  mean  by  a  queen  ant? 

26.  How  do  ants  treat  each  other  while  they  are 
at  work  ? 

27.  What  becomes  of  ants  during  winter  in  cold 
countries  ? 

28.  Of  what  use  are  ants  ? 

29.  How  can  you  study  ants  for  yourselves  ? 

30.  How  do  ants  carry  things  ? 

II.     THE    EARTH-WORM. 

1.  To  what  family  of  creatures  does  the  earth- 
worm belong? 

2.  What    can    you     say    about     a     ring-made 
creature? 

3.  How  do  the  rings  in  a  worm's  body  increase 
in  number? 

4.  Has  a  worm  any  eyes,  or  ears,  or  nose  ? 

5.  Tell  me  about  a  worm's  mouth. 

6.  What  kind  of  food  does  he  eat  ? 


Review   Questions.  175 

7.  How  does  he  eat  his  food  ? 

8.  What  has  he  inside  his  body  to  help  grind 
his  food  ? 

9.  Tell  me  about  the  worm's  veins. 

10.  Is  a  worm  "  alike  at  both  ends  "  ? 

1 1.  What  has  he  at  each  end  ? 

12.  If    a   worm   is    cut    in    two   will    both    parts 
live  ? 

1 3.  What  has  the  worm  instead  of  feet  ? 

14.  What  makes  the  worm's  body  so  dark  ? 

15.  Why  is  it  so  hard  to  pull  a  worm  out  of  its 
hole  ? 

1 6.  Tell  me  how  a  worm  makes  its  hole. 

1 7.  Why  does  the  worm  fill  itself  with  earth  ? 

1 8.  What  are  worm -casts  ? 

19.  How  do  worms  help  to  build  the  world  ? 

20.  What  kind  of  weather  do  wprms  like  best? 

21.  How  does  a  worm  close  up  the  door  of  its 
hole  ? 

22.  What  becomes  of  worms  in   very  hot,  dry 
weather  ? 

23.  When    can    you    find    worms    outside    their 
holes  ? 

24.  Of  what  use  are  worms  ? 

25.  Can  you  tell  me  about  seaside  worms? 

26.  What  kinds  of  houses  do  tube-worms  make? 

27.  Can  earth-worms  feel? 

28.  Do  they  harm  crops  or  grass  ? 

29.  Is  there  any  worm  which  has  teeth? 


176  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

III.     THE   FLY. 

1.  How  many  wings  has  a  fly? 

2.  What  has  a  fly  instead  of  the  second  pair  of 
wings  ? 

3.  Tell  me  about  a  fly's  eyes. 

4.  Describe  a  fly's  mouth. 

5.  Does  a  fly  chew  or  suck  its  food  ? 

6.  What  care  does  the   mother-fly  take  of  her 
eggs  or  her  young? 

7.  Do  flies  have  queens  or  live  in  swarms,  as 
bees  do  ? 

8.  Where  do  flies  place  their  eggs? 

9.  What  can  you  tell  me  of  the  changes  from 
the  egg  to  the  full-grown  fly  ? 

10.  How  does  the  fly  come  from  the  pupa-case? 

1 1.  What  things  do  flies  eat  ? 

1 2.  How  is  it  that  a  fly  can  run  up  a  pane  of  glass  ? 

13.  How  can  a  fly  walk  on  a  ceiling? 

14.  Will  you  describe  the  fly's  feet  ? 

15.  How  does  the  fly  make  its  buzzing  sound  ? 

1 6.  What  is  a  box-fly  ? 

17.  Tell  me  of  some  of  the  queer  ways  of  flies. 

1 8.  What  do  flies  do  when  cold  weather  comes  on? 

19.  What  do  we  mean  by  a  swarm  of  flies  ? 

20.  Of  what  use  are  flies  ? 

21.  What  harm  do  flies  do? 

22.  Tell  me  of  some  of  the  fly's  enemies. 

23.  Is  a  Spanish  fly  a  true  fly? 


Review  Questions.  177 

24.  At  what  part  of  a  fly's  life  is  it  like  a  worm  ? 

25.  What  is  a  fly  in  amber? 

26.  Tell  me  the  names  of  some  kinds  of  flies. 

27.  Why  do  people  dislike  flies  ? 

IV.    THE    BEETLE. 

1.  Into  what   two    classes    are    insects    divided 
because  of  their  way  of  taking  food  ? 

2.  To  what  family  of  insects  does   a  lady-bird 
belong  ? 

3.  With  what  is  a  beetle's  body  covered  ? 

4.  In  what  is  a  beetle  like  a  crab  ? 

5.  Describe  a  beetle's  wino--covers. 

\J  o 

6.  Where  are  the  beetle's  flying  wings  ? 

7.  What  does  the  beetle  do  with  his  wing-cov- 
ers when  he  flies  ? 

8.  Describe  a  beetle. 

9.  What  can  you  say  of  Mr.  Beetle's  colors  ? 

10.  Which  is  the  largest  family  of  insects  ? 

1 1.  Why  have  people  studied  beetles  so  much  ? 

12.  What  changes  does  the  beetle  make  before 
he  is  full-grown  ? 

1 3.  How  much  time  do  some  beetles    spend  as 
eggs,  larvae,  and  pupae  ? 

14.  Where  are  the  eggs  of  beetles  laid? 

15.  Describe  a  beetle  larva. 

1 6.  How  does  this  "white  worm,"  or  larva,  behave? 

17.  Does  any  larva  ever  have  wings  ? 

1 8.  How  is  the  pupa  packed  in  the  pupa-case? 


178  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

19.  Where  will  you  be  likely  to  find  beetle  larvae 
and  pupae  to  study? 

20.  What  does  larva  mean  ? 

21.  What  does  pupa  mean  ? 

22.  Tell  me  how  insects  breathe. 

23.  How  do  beetles  injure  plants? 

24.  Describe  a  rose  beetle. 

25.  What  can  you  tell  me  about  giant  beetles  ? 

26.  In  what  country  does  the  prince  of  beetles 
live  ? 

27.  How  do  beetles  make  a  noise  or  tune  ? 

28.  Tell  me  how  a  sexton  beetle  buries  a  mouse 
or  a  bird. 

29.  Why  do  they  do  this  ? 

30.  How  does  the  pill  beetle  make  a  place  for 
her  eggs  ? 

31.  Of  what  use  are  beetles? 

32.  Who  can  tell  me  about  a  stag  beetle  ? 

33.  Do  all  stag  beetles  have  horns  ? 

34.  Tell  me  about  the  short-coat  beetles. 

35.  Give  me  the  history  of  the  water  beetles. 

36.  What  about   the  beetles    that  eat  furs    and 
clothes? 

37.  What  do  beetles  eat? 

V.    THE    BARNACLE. 

1.  What  did  the  old  fisherman  say  of  the  num- 
ber of  barnacles  ? 

2.  Do  horse-hairs  ever  become  worms  ? 


Review   Questions.  179 

3.  What  was  the  old  fable  about  a  bird  coming 
from  a  barnacle  ? 

4.  What  two  kinds  of  barnacles  are  there  ? 

5.  What  does  an  acorn  barnacle  look  like  ? 

6.  At  what   part  of   a  barnacle's  life    does  he 
sail  about  ? 

7.  When  does  he  fasten  to  one  place  for  life  ? 

8.  Describe  a  stem  barnacle. 

9.  What  does  the  Latin  name  of  the  barnacle 
family  mean  ? 

10.  What  harm  can  barnacles  do  to  ships? 

1 1.  How  do  barnacles  get  their  food  ? 

12.  Describe  a  barnacle  fishing  party. 

1 3.  What  does  a  barnacle  moult  as  he  grows  ? 

14.  How  do  the  shell  plates  of  a  barnacle  become 
larger  ? 

15.  Are  barnacles  ever  eaten? 

1 6.  How  long  can  barnacles  live  out  of  water  ? 

1 7.  What  does  a  barnacle  eat  ? 

1 8.  What  is  Mr.  Barnacle's  fishing-net? 

19.  What  holds  a  barnacle  fast  to  a  rock? 

20.  At  what  part  of  his  life  is  a  barnacle  like  a 
crab  ? 

21.  Where  is  Mr.  Barnacle's  eye? 

22.  Where  is  the  head  part  of  a  stem  barnacle  ? 

23.  Where  are  the  barnacles'  eggs  before  they 
get  loose  in  the  water  ? 

24.  What  can  you  say  of  the  size  of  barnacles  ? 

25.  What  color  are  barnacles? 


180  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

26.  Tell  me  what  changes  a  barnacle  makes  dur- 
ing his  life. 

27.  Describe  a  barnacle  when  in  the  larva  state. 

28.  When  we  mean  more  than  one  larva,  what 
do  we  say? 

29.  When  we  memn  more  than  one  pupa,  what 
do  we  say? 

30.  What  sound  do  we  give  the  ce  in  these  words  ? 
(An  e  sound.) 

VI.   JELLY-FISH. 

1.  What  are  some  of  the  names  given  to  jelly- 
fish ? 

2.  Why  are  they  called  jelly-fish  ? 

3.  Why  are  they  called  nettles  ? 

4.  Why  are  they  given  the  names  of  flowers  ? 

5.  Can  a  jelly-fish  live  out  of  water  ? 

6.  At  what  part  of  its  life  does  a  jelly-fish  grow 
fast  in  one  place? 

7.  What  do  jelly-fish  eat  ? 

8.  How  do  they  get  their  food  ? 

9.  What  are  the  fishing-lines  of  a  jelly-fish  ? 

10.  How   does    a   jelly-fish    move    through    the 
water  ? 

1 1.  Where  are  its  eyes  ? 

12.  Where  is  the  mouth  of  a  jelly-fish  ? 

13.  Where  are  its  ears  ? 

14.  Why  have  jelly-fish  been  called  sea-lamps? 

15.  What  can  you  say  of  jelly-fish  ? 


Review   Questions.  181 

1 6.  Tell  me  of  the  shape  and  color  of  some  one 
jelly-fish. 

17.  On    what   plan    is    the    body  of   a   jelly-fish 
made  ? 

1 8.  To  what  family  do  the  jelly-fish  belong? 

19.  Which    of   you    can    draw   the    plan    of   the 
radiates  on  the  blackboard? 

20.  Has  the  jelly-fish  much  water  in  its  body  ? 

21.  Can  you  tell  me  of  what  shapes  jelly-fish  are? 

22.  What  are  some  of  the  names  which  they  get 
from  their  shapes  ? 

.23.    What  do  you   know  about  jelly-fish   before 
they  swim  about? 

24.  What   are    the   long   arms    of   the   jelly-fish 
called  ? 

25.  How  many  rays  are  there  in   the.  jelly-fish 
pattern  ? 

26.  How  do  the  eyes  of  jelly-fish  differ? 

27.  Did  you  ever  see  a  jelly-fish  in  the  ocean? 

28.  What  does  the  light  of  jelly-fishes  look  like 
in  the  water? 

VII.    THE   STAR-FISH. 

1.  To  what  family  does  the  star-fish  belong? 

2.  How  many  rays  have  most  star-fish  ? 

3.  How  many  rays  has  the  sun-star  ? 

4.  What  can  you  tell  me  about  the  brittle-star  ? 

5.  How  do  the  brittle-stars  break  into  pieces  ? 

6.  What  kind  of  coat  or  skin  has  the  star-fish  ? 


1 82  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

7.  Where  is  its  mouth  ? 

8.  Do  star-fishes  swim  or  crawl  ? 

9.  What  do  they  eat  ? 

10.  What  colors  have  star-fish  ? 

11.  How  does  the  cross-star-fish  hatch  its  eggs? 

12.  What  does   the  star-fish  look  like  when  it 
leaves  the  egg? 

13.  Which  one  star-fish  grows  fast  for  the  larva 
state  ? 

14.  Tell  me  about  the  quills  on  the  under  side 
of  the  star-fish. 

15.  How   many   kinds   of   star-fish   can   you   de- 
scribe ? 

1 6.  How  many  families  of  star-fish  are  there? 

1 7.  What  is  a  sea-cucumber  ? 

1 8.  Draw  on  the  blackboard  the  sea-egg  pattern. 

19.  What  is  a  sea-egg  or  sea-urchin  ? 

20.  To  what  family  does  it  belong? 

21.  Tell  me  about  the  urchin's  overcoat. 

22.  Describe  its  quills  and  suckers. 

23.  Tell  me  about  the  size  and  color  of  urchins. 

24.  How  does  the  urchin's  shell  increase  in  size  ? 

25.  Where  is  its  mouth  ? 

26.  Can  urchins  bore  holes  in  rock  ?     Tell   me 
about  that. 

27.  How  does  the  urchin  walk  and  climb? 

28.  Are  urchins  and  sea-cucumbers  ever  eaten  ? 

29.  Describe  an  urchin  shell  when  the  quills  are 
gone. 


Review   Questions.  183 

VIII.     THE    DRAGON-FLY. 

1.  What  insects  have  we  called  flying  flowers? 

2.  What  are  some  of  the  names  given  to  dragon- 
flies  ? 

3.  Can  a  dragon-fly  do  you  any  harm  ? 

4.  What  cousins  has  the  dragon-fly  ? 

5.  Describe  a  dragon-fly. 

6.  What  kind  of  places  and  weather  do  dragon- 
flies  like  ? 

7.  What  do  they  eat? 

8.  What   has    the    flight    of    dragon-flies    been 
called  ? 

9.  Tell  me  about  the  dragon-fly's  wonderful  eyes. 

10.  Is  the  dragon-fly  an  eater  or  a  drinker  ? 

1 1 .  Where  does   the   dragon-fly  live  while    egg, 
larva,  and  pupa  ? 

12.  How  do  the  eggs  get  into  the  water? 

13.  Tell  me  about  the  dragon-fly  pupa. 

14.  Tell  me  about  the  queer  mouth  of  the  larva. 

15.  Tell  me  how  he  catches  his  food. 

1 6.  How  does  the  larva  get  air  while  he  lives 
under  water  ? 

17.  Where  did  the  pattern  of  a  stern  wheel,  or 
screw  boat,  come  from  ? 

1 8.  How  does  the  pupa-case  change  before  the 
dragon-fly  comes  out? 

19.  Tell  me  how  the  pupa  leaves  the  water  when 
it  is  to  change  its  state. 


184  Seaside  and  Wayside. 

20.  What  can  you  say  about  the  hooks   on   its 
feet  ? 

21.  In  what  way  does  the  pupa  get  free  of  its 
case  ? 

22.  Tell  me  about  the  wings  of  the  dragon-fly. 

23.  What  care  does  it  take  of  its  wings  ? 

24.  How   long  does    the   dragon-fly   live   in   the 
larva  state  ? 

25.  How  long  does  it  live  in  the  perfect  state  ? 

26.  What  can  you  say  of  the  way  the  dragon-fly 
hunts  insects  ? 

27.  What  dragon-fly  is  called  "The  Little  Lady"? 

28.  Tell  me  about  a  lace-wing  fly. 

29.  Where  are  the  lace- wing's  eggs  laid? 

30.  What  do  lace-wing  larva  eat  ? 

31.  How  long  do  lace-wings  live? 

32.  Do  dragon-flies   and    lace-wings    keep    their 
colors  when  dead  ? 

33.  Tell  me  how  the  new  dragon-fly  expands  its 
wings. 

34.  Why  will   the   wings   bend  when   they    first 
come  from  the  case  ? 

35.  What  can  you  tell  me  about  May-Flies  ? 

36.  How  long  do  they  live  in  the  perfect  state  ? 

37.  Do    they   eat  ?     How  do    they  spend    their 
short  lives? 


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